Meet Mark Leach, a co-founder of Analogue Dawn ahead of the collective’s "Horizon pop up art and cultural experience” at Vandal in Sydney. Azren Paul (Analogue Dawn co-founder) and Mark have united musicians, brands and designers in support of HEAPS DECENT. We had a chat to Mark about Horizon’s creation, and delved into the event’s forthcoming launch on February 15.

Futuremag Music: Hey Mark, how's it cracking?

Mark Leach: I’m doing great thanks! Busy with everything leading up to the Launch but so grateful for everyone working on the Horizon launch, will good to see it all come to life!

Futuremag Music: Could you talk us through the Horizon event? How did you loop up with Heaps Decent?

Mark Leach: Horizon is the product of months of figuring out a way to combine our favourite elements of music, fashion and design into a launch event for our new brand, Analogue Dawn. The debut edition of Horizon is essentially an arts and culture exhibition to commemorate the release of our first article of clothing, designed in conjunction with Secret Hvndshake.

While our platform is still growing, we wanted to take a proactive approach to raising awareness and supporting charitable organisations that we felt strongly about and decided that each edition of Horizon would be paired with a unique not-for-profit.

We were having a bit of trouble settling on an organisation to partner with until Mark had one of his moments of brilliance and told the rest of the team about the amazing work of Heaps Decent. We reached out to their equally amazing CEO Nerida, who liked our idea enough for us to run with it and we couldn’t have been happier or prouder to support such an awesome crew.

Futuremag Music: What can patrons expect from the pop up? How did you select the fashion and music lineup?

Mark Leach: For a $5 entry donation to Heaps Decent, guests will be able to purchase exclusive units from our fashion line alongside extremely limited pieces from some of our favourite designers, photographers and clothing brands. They will also be treated to an evening of sonic curation, courtesy of an amazing local lineup featuring a complimentary selection of food with drinks provided by the legends at Kaiju & Golden Axe.

We selected everyone on the lineup based out of pure fandom. Each of the brands and individuals showcasing or performing are all incredibly talented and we’re absolutely honoured to use Horizon to showcase all of this local and international talent.

Futuremag Music: How does fashion and music interact in a creative space? What importance does it hold in the scene?

Mark Leach: The thought of trying to setup a runway show was truly terrifying for three people who had literally just started designing clothing because they were running out of things to wear. As such, we decided on a pop-up shopfront approach which, in turn, allowed us to incorporate some of our experience in music events and curate a line-up of forward-thinking performers to soundtrack the evening.

We were hugely inspired by the numerous intersections of music, fashion and art that we witnessed while travelling America and Europe last year. This encouraged us to push outside of our musical comfort zones in an attempt to present an exhibition that contributed to multiple creative industries within Sydney’s arts environment. We strongly believed that by presenting these audio-visual mediums in a holistic format, we can make a lasting impression on the global arts community.

Futuremag Music: Do you have any future Horizon events planned?

Mark Leach: Absolutely, there are still heaps of organisations we want to raise awareness for and spaces around Australia we’re really keen on working with. We wanted to keep the Horizon events as creatively flexible as possible and something we only work on when we have the time and energy to commit to it. As such, the next edition may be more music oriented for example, with a focus on showcasing performances from some of the artists on our roster, as opposed to our fashion wing. You’ll just have to wait and see.