The latest un-popular fashion trend is Tropical Goth—and it’s exactly what you think it is. Picture Charles Manson wearing a Hawaiian shirt stumbling into a backyard BBQ grill. Flaming flamingos and casual-day-for-cutters aside, you may not know that Tropical Goth is also a Brooklyn-based record label and dance party (of course it is). The Tropical Goth crew emerged a couple years ago from the minds of a couple of Bushwick’s Bossa Nova Civic Club DJs. The maestro of Tropical Goth is Shredder aka Chris Video, with Publicist, Food Stamps, Marcus Webb, Deadontheinternet and other tortured tiki souls dropping beats at select parties. Somehow they manage to blend beachy island vibes with dark industrial techno better than the best pina colada you’ve ever had on a drug-fueled bachelorette party in Puerto Rico.
You might be wondering, is Tropical Goth in any way related to Healthgoth? Why yes, it sort of is. If you don’t know what Healthgoth is, then this whole Tropical Goth talk must be flying straight over your unplugged-in head. Healthgoth’s signature t-shirt embodies its spirit: a distorted upside-down Nike logo and text that reads I Just Can’t. It’s “futuristic athletic luxe”. Johnny Love (founder of Healthgoth) has DJ’d with the Tropical Goth crew so Healthgoth and Tropical Goth are probably tighter than the black leather pants they wear while mixing cocktails at the gym.
You can catch the next Tropical Goth night at Bossa Nova Civic Club on June 8th. Get ready to catch some dark waves and get your gloom on by sippin’ on Cry Tais.
Bossa Nova Civic Club is located at 1271 Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick.