The Art of the ‘House’ Party: An interview with Diskotheca’s Leopold Rupf

For those in the Leamington know, Leo Rupf’s Diskotheca collective is the one-stop shop for a good house party in either sense of the word. From my time in second year, I can personally attest: easy music, easy company, and never a bad time. Now, Diskotheca events are pulling in crowds of hundreds in Hong Kong.   

It was nice to sit down and chat with him again. In what was – and I truly mean this in the most endearing way possible — typical Leo fashion, we warmed ourselves up by chatting about Leo’s recent excursions hopping around China. Apparently, the Beijing underground scene is “fire,” but, as someone who self-purportedly lives at night, he told me he couldn’t judge Shanghai properly without having seen its bars and clubs. Alright then! 

It was then I was reminded of the personality responsible for the local nightlife staple turned miraculous international hit. Leo isn’t the least bit shy about himself or what he wants. The man is always on the move and sports a sense of personal agency to marvel at. Our 45-minute conversation has been edited for brevity. I began with: 

How did Diskotheca start? What’s the story here? 

“So, I really like house music.” Shocker, though I suppose it seemed like a solid basis to begin with. But Leo wanted to take us way back.  

“It’s 2020, lockdown, and essentially, I drop out of school – I’m doing the IB, hate the IB – and I’m like, let me be a DJ. I float around from random gig to random gig in London, sleeping from 9am to 6pm. I guess that’s where that seed of nightlife germinated in me.”  

When he figured out he should probably go to university, he arrived and found little in the way of house music. He did a bit of work for Access in his second year, but up came Moko and Toolbox, and the Leamington music scene was a tad fragmented. Leo, like me, was also a little tired of our weekly Altoria trips. 

“I still to this day prefer house parties to club parties. You’re not paying out your arse for drinks, you’re with your friends, you’re not going to get in a fight, and for girls, there’re less creepy men.” Solid points.  

He knew the house-at-home idea could work when he did his birthday party on 21 November 2023. I was there sporting my Hawaiian shirt and cargos in the two-degree weather. Boys ‘n Bikinis, he called it. Anyway, after he mixed at a German Society house party the following January, he was basically set. He had, by this point, amassed a small band of “Italian hype men,” as he called it – but he quickly stopped himself: “Actually one’s Finnish, he just hangs out with Italians.” Such is life at Warwick. Huge praise was also sung for Violette, his photographer. “Diskotheca would be nothing without them.” 

He then got his girlfriend, Clara, on board, who is a mean graphic designer. Through a new Instagram account (@diskotheca), they advertised for their first party, which was held on 23 February 2024. Their later parties followed a winningly neat formula of intimate venues (student houses), low or zero entry fees, BYOB, and largely weekday-only dates. If it ain’t broke, right? 

The rest of the questions we banged out rather quickly.  

Were you nervous for the first event? 

“Yes. But you gotta f-cking want it. You gotta have the balls to go and get it.” 

How did you set up in Hong Kong? 

“A guy I knew from Access had thrown a party there, and he gave me the name of the club. I got in touch with the club, spoke to the guy, and he gave me a minimum spend that wasn’t too crazy.” 

It’s important to note that before this, Leo was gauging interest through massive WhatsApp communities. He sent out announcements and made his own chats. He timed the first party early. 

“If you want to get in people’s heads, you have to do it right at the beginning. I’m looking at when the student parties are, which I know will be sh-t, but people will go anyway. But fresher’s week, people want to go out. They’re not going to give a sh-t what the party is – they just need a party.” 

The party also had to be on a weekday. “Loyalty to the brand.” This was all organised before he even touched Hong Kong soil. 

Aside from WhatsApp, the marketing strategy was clear. “In terms of selling, word of mouth is far more powerful. Selling to their face is counterintuitive.” As you’ll find, if someone has to pitch you the event, something has gone wrong. 

What was your ‘monumental’ moment with Diskotheca? 

“When we opened the ticket sale for our Halloween event in Hong Kong and sold 200 tickets in about 15 minutes.”  

That event’s total turnout was near 450 people. He also cited the first party as pivotal. Offering free tickets, he was legitimately nervous people wouldn’t turn up. “Like, even I’d get a free ticket anyway, even if I think I’m not going to go. The more expensive a ticket, the more likely someone is to show up. So, I was definitely nervous. But people showed up and showed out.” 

What are the biggest challenges? 

“Managing the crowd. They want a lot. And they’re easily unhappy. Quick to critique, slow to praise.” 

How does Diskotheca exist within the student life here at Warwick? What is its purpose? 

“Great. House. Parties. We are dedicated to the brand of the house party.” 

And lastly, what do you think Diskotheca will look like in 60 years? 

“I want to take Diskotheca with me. I want it to be f-cking big. But once I become a politician, I’ll probably have to stop.”