August 30, 2021

Deep Underground

An insider look at VRChat's burgeoning club scene.

Deep Underground
This article was originally published in VRTrend Magazine's July 2021 issue.

Last month saw a big moment for virtual reality, as audio darling Porter Robinson gave a glowing testimony of VR’s capacity for holding concerts where Covid had previously prohibited them. Robinson’s review, found in most major culture news sources, gave credence to established VRChat music venues such as Ghost Club, M.A.S.S., Shelter, and Loner Online.

But these four locales aren’t the only ones attracting crowds of users to the dance floor. What follows is a guide to another slice of VRChat’s music scene, past what’s presented in popular media to cut to the meat of the action. These clubs play any type of music the DJ brings to the table, so your night is filled with dancing to what’s hot, rather than a specific genre.

Strap on your headset, get your full-body trackers, and pick your poison. There’s plenty of excitement to go around.


DDVR is often referred to as a friendly club where all are welcome. It is eqivalent to the well-loved neighborhood bar.

DDVR

Where did the idea of your club come from?

The idea for DDVR came from a few people, and their expanding circle, wanting a way to dance in VR, and have fun, and make memories. It's been around for about three years now, founded in the beginning of 2018.

When do you normally hold events?

Our events are on Wednesday, starting at 6PM CST, and Saturday, starting at 4PM CST. Other events are hosted by our community--the most frequent being every other Monday and each Tuesday.

DDVR has been a club staple for a long time. What do you feel keeps bringing people back?

We’ve been a staple because we hope to give patrons a generally regular schedule of events involving DJs that have been around the block. DDVR has also been the starting ground for many dancers in the general community and we hope to give new users a welcome introduction into these kind of parties. Our clubbers continue to partake because of our warm atmosphere, good people, and generally good vibes.

Do you have a social media presence?

Yes! Any information needed can be found at our Discord, https://ddvr.club/.


Rizumu is a club that constantly shifts in scope and design. Shown is their spaceship map, often used for events on Saturday nights.

RIZUMU

Tell us about Rizumu and the club’s personal journey.

The original design of Rizumu was based on mainly focusing on DJs and their performances, as well as creating a space for people to enjoy the music and dance to it freely. Building an environment that respected those elements which were inspired from another amazing community that Krisu Mushi had built called Elysium.

When do you normally hold events?

We have our main events every Saturday starting at 9PM EDT/1AM UTC /10AM JST. Every other Monday we hold an event for DJs new to VRC to introduce themselves to the community, as well as people who are learning how to DJ. Every other Tuesday we also have Moethelawn running the Armageddon Event which caters to Dubstep.

Rizumu was originally created with maximum framerate in mind. What's something else you always try to strive for with your club designs?

The maps Rizumu has utilized have for the most part been primarily focused on optimization. We entertained a pretty cyberpunk aesthetic, something neo-futuristic. With the help of Krisu Mushi, the Star Ship map we currently use was created. The map is a very beautiful and simple design that incorporates the flair we want, and it's amazingly optimized as well. Thanks to Barry Bluejorts, he also helped with making various quality-of-life adjustments and visual overhauls to make it even more of an amazing place to celebrate music.

What are your socials, for those who want to know more?

To find out about our events you can follow us on twitter at @rizumuvr.


Ragehauz is practically dripping in neon and acid-friendly imagery. "Freedom" is a key word with this club's outlook.

RAGEHAUZ

Please introduce us to your venue’s concept. What is it?

The idea of Ragehauz came after months of hopping around the scene and just wanting to give to the amazing community that I come to love as well as meeting DJs like TVPPS, Ju.no, G-Dubs, and so many more that I wish I could list. With the help of a few friends we created this as a new venue for Djs to throw down the way they want and as much as they want and the people can be free to vibe as they please.

When do you normally hold events?

They happen weekly on Mondays normally, but we will do random pop up depending on what's going on and who wants to play. There will be bigger events and collabs on special occasions.

Ragehauz is known for being open and free-spirited. What aspect or rule do you keep in place to retain that feeling?

We love y’all, we want the vibe of love and respect to be a course of unity. We also try to create a safe and welcoming environment!

Please tell us your socials so people can find out more.

You can find our discord at https://discord.gg/SCVN7CzC94, and on Twitter as @ragehauz.


Resonance Room's aim is to make visitors feel as if they're partying in a place they shouldn't be in at all, proving design matters in club experiences.

RESONANCE ROOM

Where did the idea of your club come from?

The idea of Resonance came to me after my introduction to the VR club scene when I was unexpectedly invited to a recreation of a New York block party. The entire night I had the sensation that my mom wouldn’t want me to be there, and since then I’ve had that lust for adrenaline.

A week after, I sought out to recreate that in my own way and recalled back to when I lived in Toronto where the city was building a flood system, similar to that found in Tokyo. I was always mildly fascinated with this massive deep hole in the middle of the city and remembered something like that existed in The Mirror's Edge. I sourced that game for inspiration and images of the Tokyo flood facility, and then Resonance Room was born.

Resonance has only been around since April, but since we’ve had 4 successful events which has unintentionally made the illusion we've been here longer.

When do you normally hold events?

Resonance Room holds events every other weekend, at 7PM PDT. However, we have been looking into spacing out events to maybe once a month.

I hear the club has a lore. What's that about?

Resonance doesn’t have a story you can follow, or an ARG you can solve…yet. However, part of my mission to make Resonance feel like a real space that imitates the feeling of an unsanctioned event, has me updating the world every event to make each time someone attends feel like they’re not walking into a crisp “off the press” experience.

The lore is what the people make it, like the trash they leave behind. Things like empty beer bottles on a table, or old fliers stepped on pushed into a corner. One example of this, was a DJ jokingly requesting I spray painted DJ P**S CORNER on one of the walls, and I added that in as if he picked up a spray can and tagged it himself. I will never remove it. It is permanent like paint.

Please tell us your socials so people can find out more.

You can follow Resonance Room and get all of our updates over at our discord @ https://discord.gg/zV6Kh8j5t, Twitter at @AriexeVR, or show your support over at my Patreon.


The Block, one of Zenith's partners for music events. Its design makes users who grew up in urban spaces express how they feel they've returned home again.

ZENITH

Where did Project Zenith come from?

The project for Zenith came about one day when JNZi, Paulmanton, and I were hanging out. We wanted to provide a place where all the DJ's we knew in the scene could get together and hold events with our friends in the Japanese scene. At that time, there wasn't really much of a mix between the two so it was either you were part of one or the other.

Normally, we ask clubs when they hold events. Because Zenith is not a club and is a group endeavor, we'd like to know where you hold events.

We normally hold our events at Dieselworks. We also use The Block, created by SwaMusic, for hip-hop type events, and Shark Hut by Sashimi Fugu. We’re trying to put together a mix of events between the two venues and maybe even more places soon.

Zenith is a project that also contains a podcast. Can you please explain this to our readers?

Slice Of Zenith is a weekly running podcast hosted by Melonslices and I, and produced by Chevette. On the show, we ask people in the VRChat music scene to come in, sit down on our couch and speak to us for an hour or two about what got them into VR, music, and any questions our Twitch chat has for them too.

Where can readers find out more about you?

You can check me out over at Twitch at NOIREMusic and my Twitter at @ItMeNoire. You can also see more from Zenith at @ZenithProjeKT or on our discord: https://www.discord.gg/EwkhCuWSKB.


Diseselworks's set design is evocative and gives a sense of limited standing room, granting users the feeling of standing in a packed club.

DIESELWORKS

Tell us about your venue.

Dieselworks has been heavily inspired by UK based venues. Particularly, Fabric and Cargo in London. I really enjoy the brick architecture and industrial look. I come from a background in audio visual production so this blending of real, grounded event spaces, and VR has been a creative passion lately.

When do you normally host events?

We try to host official Dieselworks events every 3 weeks and off-events sporadically.

Dieselworks has a few different associations going on with it, from the Comfy Kittens graffiti on the wall to its co-podcast with Projekt Zenith. Can you explain a bit more?

Yeah! There are stickers of logos and things like that from the community and friends in the VR club scene. I like to show off and have a space to represent everyone in the scene in their own special way.

Where can readers find you online for more information?

You can find me on Twitter at @melonslices_vr.


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