Still in its first year, MIOAZ is beginning to carve out its own corner of London’s electronic music scene, built around extended sets, carefully chosen line-ups and the deeper, melodic and progressive sounds that sit at the heart of the project. Alongside its growing events arm, MIOAZ Live, the brand is also developing MIOAZ Released, with plans to bring the two sides increasingly closer together as it grows.

That next step continues on 26 September at 93 Feet East in Shoreditch, where MIOAZ – which stands for Music In Ones And Zeroes – celebrates its first birthday with an eight-hour, two-room party headed by Braxton and Trilucid, both playing extended sets, alongside a line-up combining established names with emerging London talent.

Ahead of the event, we caught up with MIOAZ founder Adrian Beretta to talk about the thinking behind the brand, why longer DJ sets remain central to its approach, creating opportunities for new artists and where he hopes MIOAZ might go next.

What has surprised you most about the first year of MIOAZ?

So many surprises to be honest – we’re a small team of two (with my wife Ash) and we’re definitely learning as we go. It’s a complicated industry to navigate – there’s been many “oh, so that’s how it’s done” moments.

But I would say I’m most surprised by how MIOAZ has started to develop its identity.

When we started, we had a very simple idea of the kind of music and experience we wanted to create, and the brand identify both visually and in tone, but you never really know how people are going to respond until you put it in front of them. We’ve received so much positive feedback about the brand, design, event visuals etc. Even how people pronounce MIOAZ! Also, some folks have already noticed I’m obsessed with trees and how they spread their roots (pun very much intended) to our designs, event graphics etc.

As we grow, I always do want to be surprised how people respond to what we have to offer, and the connection people will have with MIOAZ. I’d like people understand that MIOAZ is about more than just throwing a party – it’s about the music, the atmosphere, the artists and most importantly it is about just giving people the space and time to actually experience all of those things.

We’re still very much at the beginning of our journey, but there’s already a sense that MIOAZ can become its own musical identity and community .

Take us back to the original idea. What was missing from London club culture that made you think there was room for MIOAZ in the first place?

London obviously has an incredibly rich electronic music scene. There are many smaller and independent promoters, and we’re spoilt for choice with bigger brands, iconic venues and festivals. But there can be a tendency towards shorter sets and stacked line-ups. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy those sorts of events, but we also wanted to create something where the music was allowed to breathe a little more and to give the headline DJs we book space to express themselves.

MIOAZ comes from a love of melodic, progressive, deeper and more emotional electronic music, but also from wanting to create that feeling of going somewhere because you trust the people behind the night and know you’re going to hear something interesting.

There are brands that have really influenced how I think about that. Anjunadeep is a big one for me. I actually went to some of their early London events when they were happening in much smaller clubs, and seeing what they’ve gone on to build is incredibly inspiring.

It’s not about trying to replicate Anjunadeep or other brands like Colorize or All Day I Dream. They all have their own identities and audiences. But they show what is possible when you build something around a genuine musical identity and allow it to grow organically.

That’s what I see as the opportunity with MIOAZ. We’d love to become that regular day or night. Build it slowly, earn people’s trust and let the audience grow with us rather than trying to manufacture that growth overnight.

Why extended sets? And what do you think gets lost when DJs are routinely given 60 or 90 minutes to make their mark?

I think what gets lost with shorter sets is the journey. You don’t always get to understand the DJ as an artist because you’re only seeing a snapshot of what they can do. Most of them get sent so much music that I guess they hardly ever get to play out even though they may love a particular track.

If a DJ knows they only have 60 minutes, there’s naturally a pressure to make an immediate impact. Some DJs are genuinely great at making 60 minutes work, others not! If a DJ is trying to get in more that 10 or 12 tracks into a 60 min set, you’re probably losing some of what the producers of those tracks had intended. You’re almost encouraged to go straight for the big moments, mixing straight out of the drop. With an extended set, the DJ can actually tell a story.

For us, an extended set isn’t just about giving a DJ more time. It’s about giving the MIOAZ audience a completely different experience. And ultimately, that’s part of building trust too. If people know that when they come to MIOAZ they’re going to get a musical journey rather than a series of quick snapshots, that becomes part of what the brand stands for.

“Community” has become one of those words almost every promoter uses. What does it actually mean within MIOAZ, and have you seen relationships or collaborations develop that wouldn’t have happened without the events?

We’re still very much in the early stages of building our community, both online and in real-life but we’re slowly seeing some of those connections happening. But it is extremely important to us that this community doesn’t develop in a bubble. For MIOAZ the community aspect is multi-layered. We are, and will be, part of the wider London community and it is extremely important for us to make it better not drain it – if that makes sense? So, we’d love to get to know other promoters, sharing insights and dates so we don’t step on each other’s toes and can ensure the wider clubbing community is sustainable. We always run an industry guestlist so reach out!

Then there’s the local DJ/Producer community we’d love to be a part of. It is important to grow local talent. One of our main missions is to make our lineups more representative – because that too gives people a sense of belonging. For our next event we ran a search for two female DJs to join our line-up. The response was amazing, with so many talented DJs just waiting for their break. We only had two slots available this time around but many who submitted a mix we’ll absolutely try to find the right spot for them in 2027.

Then there’s the dancefloor community – the people that make the event, bring the vibe! We’ve seen people come to one of our events knowing very few people and then leave having met the DJs, and other music lovers who they stay connected with afterwards. And I think that’s one of the things that makes a smaller, more intimate event special. You can actually talk to people. You can meet the DJ. That’s really important to us.

How do you spot an emerging DJ who is ready for an opportunity like 93 Feet East? Is it mainly about technical ability and musical taste, or are you looking for something less obvious?

Technical ability is important, and obviously the music has to fit, but it’s definitely not just about how well someone can mix. I actually love hearing the odd mistake in a mix – that gives me an insight into them as a DJ and how they’d respond on the day/night if something goes awry.

I’m looking for personality and identity. Does the DJ have something to say musically? Do they make interesting choices? Can they read a room? Can they build a journey rather than just play a collection of good tracks? Obviously running a DJ search you may not get an immediate insight into all of those factors – but everyone deserves a chance. So if I was forced to give a simple answer, it would be the surprise factor – “oh I didn’t see that track coming, but it works!”

Sometimes you hear a technically perfect set that doesn’t really tell you anything about the person behind it. Then you hear someone who might not be completely polished yet, but they have real character and you immediately want to hear more. That’s the kind of artist I want to give an opportunity to.

And I think that’s important if MIOAZ is going to grow organically. We want people to discover artists through us and, over time, trust that if we’re putting someone on a MIOAZ line-up, there’s a reason they’re there.

You could easily have launched one MIOAZ label covering everything. Instead, you’ve created Released, Green and Blue. Where did that decision come from, and how distinct do you want those identities to become?

It’s an interesting question and something we’ve been thinking about recently. The label has taken a bit of a backseat to the events this year and we haven’t really launched in earnest just yet. The strategy is to get to know the industry a bit better by releasing a few tracks under my aliases. I want to be sure I understand the mechanisms of a modern label a little more before having artists entrust me with their work. We’re looking at 2027 to start opening up the roster.

But back to the label variations. Apart from white, green and blue being my favourite colours… The label is MIOAZ Released. The basic concept is MIOAZ Released is really the broader, more eclectic side of the label. Be that ambient, chill, electronica or whatever. Perhaps even look to doing full electronic focused albums in future. Green is deep and melodic house. The colour represents the earthy side of life, emotional uplifting. Did I mention I’m obsessed with trees!? While Blue is more progressive, also emotive but darker and deeper. There’s however a nice continuum across those genres and we love them all. So, the rationale was to make the colour distinction while we develop as a label. In time we may become better known and trusted and may just continue under MIOAZ Released and not worry too much about having to make that distinction.

There are labels like Colorize that I really admire because they’ve managed to build a very recognisable musical identity while still allowing that sound to evolve. That’s something I’d like us to achieve with the different sides of MIOAZ. But again, we’re not trying to rush it. I want those identities to develop organically. The music should define the labels rather than us deciding that Green has to sound like this or Blue has to sound like that forever.

The colour distinction will continue for MIOAZ Live though (the events part). The flyer design and concept will reflect the lead genre for the event. We’ve got an exciting series planned for the progressive events which you’ll see that “blue” concept come through quite strongly.

Let’s say I’m an unknown producer with a brilliant record and I send it to MIOAZ tomorrow. What happens next? What can you offer that goes beyond releasing it and hoping people find it?

Although the label hasn’t launched in earnest yet, we’ve already been approached by artists looking for a home for their music, so we’re starting to develop a small list of artists we’d be interested in working with.

But what can you expect from us? It may sound cliché or obvious, but we’ll make every effort to listen to everything we receive, and where we can, we’ll give you some feedback too.

We would like to work with artists that have a small catalogue of unreleased tracks that we can develop. We’d like to focus on them as an artist, giving them the opportunity to release a small body of work with us. Again, this is inspired by the likes of Anjunadeep, Colorize and All Day I Dream. The music is paramount, but you can see how they develop the artist too. That will be very important to us.

With the events side of things that will also give them the opportunity to develop that side of their careers too. We’d also love to work with artists who can develop a live element to their show. And I think that’s particularly important for an emerging producer. There’s so much music being released now that simply putting a track on a platform isn’t enough.

We’re still growing ourselves, so we’re not going to pretend we can offer an artist the world. But what we can offer is genuine attention. Although we’re not interested in social media footprint as a key factor when deciding to work with someone, we understand it is important. So they’d get that support from us as well. We’re by no means experts but we’ve learned a few things while trying to grow ourselves.

How big do you actually want MIOAZ to become? Is there a point where bigger venues, bigger artists and a larger audience could start working against the reason you created it in the first place?

For us, the dream isn’t simply to have a bigger event. It’s to build a world around MIOAZ that people genuinely want to be part of — and then see how far that can take us.

We absolutely want MIOAZ to grow. I’d love to see bigger artists, bigger audiences and, eventually, perhaps take the brand to other cities. But that’s a very slow burn, and it may not be our future. The important thing is that we grow in step with the audience and the profile of the brand, rather than over-reaching.

As I mentioned before I attended Anjunadeep events in London when they were in much smaller clubs. To see how that has developed since then is incredible. If MIOAZ could achieve even a fraction of that journey, I’d be extremely proud. All Day I Dream is another great example of how a very specific musical and visual identity can grow into something global without becoming generic. That’s the kind of growth I’d like to see happening for MIOAZ.

Of course, there is a point where scale can start to change what made something special in the first place. If we get to the stage where we’re putting thousands of people into a room and the experience feels anonymous, or we’re booking artists because they’re commercially big rather than because they’re right for MIOAZ, then we’ve probably lost our way.

The ambition is to grow without losing the intimacy, quality and sense of community that made people want to be involved in the first place. That is the challenge because we obviously would like to see something sustainable and to be honest it’s difficult to predict how we’d respond to some of those difficult decisions in future. But we’ll always try to keep ourselves honest – and hopefully we’d be called out on that as well! There’s that trust thing in the community we’re trying to create.
I want people to trust MIOAZ. Trust that the music will be good. Trust that the events will be properly curated. Trust that an artist on the line-up deserves to be there. Trust that a release on the label has been chosen because we believe in it.

If we can build that trust over years, then the growth will follow naturally I think.

MIOAZ Live presents Braxton & Trilucid is at 93 Feet East 26 September – tickets on sale now via RA