Daria Khan: You made On the Offbeat in response to the concept of “syncopes”, which is the overarching theme of the homonymous group exhibition at Mimosa House in London, and which developed around various sonic practices and also around syncope compared to displacement and alienation. How do you relate to this subject?

Chooc Ly Tan: On a personal level, as a French-born Afro, Vietnamese, Cambodian creature, I am the product of colonialism. I often feel lost between cultures. I grew up in a working-class environment surrounded by other children of immigrants. When I became a visual artist in London, I found myself in a very white and elitist art world, which was alienating. To me, the show's theme suggests “otherness”, shifts in space and time, and gaps, which I related to this experience of alienation. And changing that condition is central to my work as an artist, DJ, and educator. For example, with our clubnight Décalé—which I run with Anne Duffau—we aim to promote talented artists, producers and DJs who are disadvantaged by societal and commercial norms. Décalé means “being displaced in space and time”.

DK: In the film, you interview the most amazing practitioners about their experiences of syncopation. How did you choose people featured and what are the locations we see in the film?

CLT: The film starts from the notion of syncopation, the technique in music that brings rhythm to life by disrupting its regular flow. I wanted to expand on this notion by thinking of syncopation as subverting regular patterns more generally—how does it manifest in nature, and social movements? I wanted to make connections between creative, scientific and political processes so I chose people accordingly. And I wanted to present the work of queer and diasporic people who are underrepresented. I started developing the concepts before the pandemic; initially I wanted to interview a DJ in Lagos and a biologist in Hong Kong. But then the pandemic forced me to focus on my London network. With Rishi, we used to have an art/science collective, The IMS (Institute for Mathematical Sciences), so I was familiar with his research in mathematics and behavioural systems. I also worked with Chris before. They performed as a Vogue Dancer in my piece Decolonise Meteoric Mix (Brussels, 2017); and took on the challenge to compete in a Dance battle versus a Breakdancer. I was impressed! So I wanted to work with them again.

For the film scenes, I've asked everyone to choose a significant place. For example, Omar chose this estate near Burgess Park. It was where they used to meet regularly with other Vogue artists, and where they met Chris for the first time. Hannah and Chris chose their bedrooms, infused with their personalities. Rishi wanted to meet at Cafe Oto, where he used to work on his Phd, but it was closed due to Covid, so they suggested the Woodberry Wetlands. We filmed Annie where she lived. For the outdoor dance scenes we choose Burgess Park because I lived nearby and I'm fond of it.

DK: I found it unexpected and fascinating to also see the experience of taste and various spices explored in the context of syncopation. And I know you’ve been using elements of chemistry in your previous work as well. Could you tell me how this element co-exists with your sound and video practice?

CLT: Food tastes are revealing of people's history and attitude, of the traditions they follow, break, or mix. I am into transformative and reactive phenomena in nature, the labs or the kitchen, as much as these cultural mixes. I worked in bars as a mixologist, and as an artist I play with materials, substances and technological devices. In my DJ sets I specialise in mixing across conflicting genres and bpms. This constant assemblage, mixing and reworking is intensely present across my sonic and visual work. It's an artistic, scientific and culinary joy.

DK: What will your next project be about?

CLT: I'm going to focus on music for a few months for my first EP. Upcoming is a printed publication, to do with urban geography and nightlife. For this, I made an epic collage using clips from home-made photographs (night strolling in my hometown, collected photos from parties, etc.) and found images. I wanted to recreate the sensation of time-travelling that I feel when at home or at certain parties. I get nostalgic when I go home, but it also has a number of futuristic backdrops with architecture made of reflective materials, housing projects and bridges connecting different hoods. Socio-politically there is a melancholia to this urban landscape, which I've tried to juxtapose with the exuberance of the dancefloor. And I wanted to teleport this juxtaposition, the dancers and the DJ, to an imagined future.