"We get techno, the animals get support."
It might seem like an unlikely pairing, but thumping electronic music and an overwhelming dedication to the vegan lifestyle, gave Tonia Nee the idea to put on a night to remember.
"Synthapise is a non-profit techno event raising awareness and funds for individual causes," said the budding DJ.
After bringing Synthapise from concept to creation, Tonia, who has also been vegan for three years, jokingly says: "Yes it is a mouthful and not so that I can watch people struggle, I promise!"
Pronounced Synth-a-pise, it is inspired by the words Synth, an electronic musical instrument, and Empathise.
From there it was a ripple affect of finding out more and more about what happens to these voiceless animals - who in her opinion could teach us a thing or two about life rather than vice versa.
Tonia first opted for a meat-free lifestyle when she was made aware of what happens behind the scenes in the dairy industry.
"I always had this mentality that cows produced milk for us, but the truth is that its for their babies, not us."
In order for cows to produce milk, farmers must keep them in a constant state of lactation, by repeatedly artificially inseminating them. After carrying a baby for 10 months the calf is separated from it's mother just seconds after birth.
If male, the baby is sent to the veal industry, and to the dairy farms if female.
"This cycle continues until the mother is of no "use" anymore and is disposed of - it's really heartbreaking," says Tonia.
For the first Synthapise event, the proceeds will go to Tower Hill Stables The shelter, which is run by Fiona Oaks and her partner Martin, have saved over 400 animals from abuse, neglect and slaughter.
"I was completely in awe of the work they do and knew I wanted to help them through Synthapise," said the DJ.
Originally hailing from The United States, her love for music came from the days of burning dance music CDs for kids in her school.
"I used to visit Ireland a lot as a kid," adding, "when I was there my cousins would introduce me to "dance" music."
"So with all my new found knowledge I would come back to America all clued up on on the "cool artists", like Scooter and Gigi Di Agostino, and be trying to explain to everyone about this dance music."
Instead of telling people about the genre of music, she decided to burn CDs and hand them out to the kids in my school," earning her the nickname Dj TNice by her classmates.
"My mom would have to buy me loads of blank CDs - and I would block the phone line, back when it was dial up, for hours downloading music and freaking out if anyone interrupted the internet connection!"
Describing the situation as mad, she assures people loved the CDs and she got known for making these "techno" discs.
Fast forward over 10 years later, Tonia has made her footprint on the scene. Enrolling in a course back in 2014, that taught her the basics, she has gone on her own little journey and met some amazing people who equally as passionate about electronic music.
Using her connections, Tonia has assembled the Synthapise lineup with artists who also support the cause.
"I wouldn't have asked these guys to be a part of this if I didn't believe in them."
She adds, "I've heard all these guys playing out and have been impressed every time."
"After I open the event, our first guest is Karen Wilkins, she's all about deep groove and she knows exactly how to get a crowd going.
"Cat Hooper and Mariano Cicciarelli are a magnetic duo when behind the decks together- expect lots of high energy and moody baselines.
"Following Cat and Mariano is Tzapa and T. Tzapa has played at some of Londons biggest underground clubs and his partner in crime T has over 15 years of guitar expertise under his belt and is not a stranger to techno, so I can only imagine what these two are going to create!
"Odd Hills brings deep dark techno to our line up, using 4 channels to create hypnotising grooves.
"And last up with we have Anirec and End Train - both known to the London scene and also for their international gigs. Anirec, is a pseudonym - the person behind it is a wizard at break beats and heavy baselines. Joining Anirec in a B2B performance is End Train who is famous for his melancholic melodies and fast paced drums.
"I'm very excited to have them all on board and to be involved in such a great cause - we get techno, the animals get support."
All the Djs on the lineup are on SoundCloud and Facebook to get a preview. Follow Tonia for updates on this Saturdays event.
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