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WEDNESDAY MAY 20TH / 7-11PM / $5-$20 SLIDING SCALE ALL AGES AT BANTHA TEA BAR @banthateabar

SWEET ABYSS welcomes you to a unique gathering of familial forces for a night of evocative electronics & bold soundwaves 😈🤭😜

YESSI will make her return to Pittsburgh with a LIVE SET of beautifully cocophonous frequencies & insurrectionary beat science for the dykes, theys, & gays. Thriving in her new home of Los Angeles, she’s always leveling up her sound & making amazing music for bold Sagittarius Wifegirls who love their wives & strange dancers of all shapes, sizes, & locales. Come hear for yourself!!!

To close out the night, a LIVE performance will also transpire from JZKL; the duo of virtuosic percussionist Johnny Zoloft + the worst avant garde turntablist you’ve ever heard Kiernan Laveaux, this time joined by very special guest I4A @i4apresentday shredding minor key guitar passages over top of the JZKL abstract cauldron of sound. JZKL has only performed in Pittsburgh twice before & this will now be their first set that Johnny Zoloft’s percussive synthesis manifestatiin know as THE BOX will be transforming the band into full on speaker musick. Soundtracking the spiritual decay of the now, they’re honored to be sharing this moment of sound with I4A’s six string storytelling to unravel & congeal our shared fates.

Sweet Abyss’ Daddy & Mommy Malzof & Carrie Sours will be providing #esoteric selects to open the night, in their signature cheeky styles of TRANSGENDER DANCE MUSIC beloved by everyone from Pups, Old party dancers who remember when the music was what really mattered, maladjusted artists who don’t use their degrees, radical farmers for a better tomorrow, & bisexuals the world over.

Visual yumminess for the senses as always provided by Malzof @jmal_malzof

Sweet Abyss is an event to center people that run afoul of societal expectations playing a wide variety of fun, strange, rhythmic sounds to dance or move their minds to. Dance to all kinds of synth-wave, trip hop, dub, disco, & electronic explorations. Hosted by residents Kiernan Laveaux, Malzof, Davis Galvin + Carrie Sours

GAY PSYCHEDELIC VIBES
ESOTERIC LOUNGE MUSIC
& MORE!!!

introducing.... THE BOX

a sound system drumset i've been developing since september.

more to come :-)

Animal Crossing this Wednesday @animal.nyc 🐒🐷🦎

playing vinyl all night

expect preposterous house and misguided disco 🔮

Hey yall!!! Psssssst!!!

Malzof DJ residency returns to @maryspgh 😍 ♡

I wanted to shift it back to one of my fave days of the week: MONDAY, so here we are continuing with Monday Feb 23 and Monday March 23.

Next up, February 23 features very special guest @johnnyzoloft who is in town to rock the house at @sweetabyss23 !!!

Think of Monday like the unofficial warm up for Sweet Abyss Three Year Anniversary Weekend 🥰

8pm-12am (or maybe later 👀)

Come and have some fun, let off some start of the week steam and give JZ your warmest welcome 🥂

SAT FEB 28TH / 5PM-12AM / $10-$30 SLIDING AT SECRET LOCATION

SWEET ABYSS 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND NIGHT 2 dives into cozy confines of special northside (Pgh) location, ft. a continuous blend of resident DJs, frequent collaborators & harmonious selectors for more eclectic disc jockeying. These artists are our siblings and family whom our paths have crossed across lifetimes & locales. As Sweet Abyss goes, expect a wide variety of fun, strange, rhythmic sounds to dance or move your minds to - synth-wave, trip hop, dub, disco, & electronic explorations TDM & more!

After Friday's live set, multitalented RUSSELL E.L. BUTLER returns for a 2nd night, this time behind the DJ decks. Known for productions & deejaying alike, they are also an acclaimed archivist, storyteller, radio host, writer & artist from the Bay Area to NYC, by way of Bermuda. Check out #DeepExposure on substack & The Lot Radio.

Special guest SOLD drops in for an appearance from Chicago, but they are no stranger to the W. PA/ E. Ohio area. Sold is one of the forces behind both Lizard Label & the ambient project Farplane, along with their spouse Hi-Vis. Known to make you cry on the dancefloor, they will be closing out the anniversary weekend on Saturday night !

MIRA MIRA & Johnny Zoloft both return for night 2 as well. From flexing expertise in live instrumentation & performance (pairing up with Russell E.L. Butler live and Slug Beat live, respectively on Friday) to now pairing up with each other for a freewheeling b2b set of unknown proportion. These 2 are also part of the forces behind many creative collabs like party birthing Uhaul Disco & live performance trio: white fuck puppet. While they met and created together in Pgh, these 2 continue their practices from NYC.

Finally, 3 of Sweet Abyss resident disc-jockeys CARRIE SOURS, DAVIS GALVIN & MALZOF join forces for an extended play warm up opening Sat eve festivities. Each long-running DJs & creatives making waves since 2010s, there's decades worth of outputs amongst them. While they usually play solo, these 3 have played b2b at Jellyfish, Field Day and in homes across pgh. Let them welcome you to a beautiful night into SWEET ABYSS.

SAT FEB 28TH / 5PM-12AM / $10-$30 SLIDING AT SECRET LOCATION

SWEET ABYSS 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND NIGHT 2 dives into cozy confines of special northside (Pgh) location, ft. a continuous blend of resident DJs, frequent collaborators & harmonious selectors for more eclectic disc jockeying. These artists are our siblings and family whom our paths have crossed across lifetimes & locales. As Sweet Abyss goes, expect a wide variety of fun, strange, rhythmic sounds to dance or move your minds to - synth-wave, trip hop, dub, disco, & electronic explorations TDM & more!

After Friday's live set, multitalented RUSSELL E.L. BUTLER returns for a 2nd night, this time behind the DJ decks. Known for productions & deejaying alike, they are also an acclaimed archivist, storyteller, radio host, writer & artist from the Bay Area to NYC, by way of Bermuda. Check out #DeepExposure on substack & The Lot Radio.

Special guest SOLD drops in for an appearance from Chicago, but they are no stranger to the W. PA/ E. Ohio area. Sold is one of the forces behind both Lizard Label & the ambient project Farplane, along with their spouse Hi-Vis. Known to make you cry on the dancefloor, they will be closing out the anniversary weekend on Saturday night !

MIRA MIRA & Johnny Zoloft both return for night 2 as well. From flexing expertise in live instrumentation & performance (pairing up with Russell E.L. Butler live and Slug Beat live, respectively on Friday) to now pairing up with each other for a freewheeling b2b set of unknown proportion. These 2 are also part of the forces behind many creative collabs like party birthing Uhaul Disco & live performance trio: white fuck puppet. While they met and created together in Pgh, these 2 continue their practices from NYC.

Finally, 3 of Sweet Abyss resident disc-jockeys CARRIE SOURS, DAVIS GALVIN & MALZOF join forces for an extended play warm up opening Sat eve festivities. Each long-running DJs & creatives making waves since 2010s, there's decades worth of outputs amongst them. While they usually play solo, these 3 have played b2b at Jellyfish, Field Day and in homes across pgh. Let them welcome you to a beautiful night into SWEET ABYSS.

It is a cold and clear night. A prismatic orb of light floats toward you from the glimmering distance. It lands upon a crystalline obsidian formation and expresses sparks of electrostatic noise. When this transparent orb pops what emerges is a tiny winged creature with a melody emitting from its chest 🎶 you see more orbs floating your way and each has a harmony and rhythm to contribute to an atmospheric symphony. In this evening of collaborative frequencies we will be amazed and moved. Cycle of Stars reaches us on tour all the way from Atlanta to bring us an earth worshipping presentation of movement and sonic magic, Johnny Zoloft & Kiernan Laveaux come together as the hypnotizing & inspiring live duo of JZKL combining live percussion, synthesizer FX, vocals, & abstract turntablism… the 30,000AD x Pamela_ extraction of Spiral Generator now known as Angels of the Left Field will be presenting a heart racing noisy breakbeat… and a new live collaborative ecstatic duo Love Language will awaken our senses… hope to see you there.

SLUG BEAT & PAMELA & HER SONS - LIVE AT L&SD TAPE NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM @slug_zone @pamela__ahs @kiernanlaveaux @johnnyzoloft

SLUG BEAT & Pamela & her sons are proud to present an audio document of the performance they shared at @lightandsounddesign in NYC March 2025, alongside a stellar lineup of Matthew Regula & Bookworms + Alex Zhang Hungtai duo

Side A contains 38minutes of arcane material from SLUG BEAT - the psychedelic fusion ensemble brought to life here by SUG on guitar, JOHNNY ZOLOFT on drums, & KIERNAN LAVEAUX on samples/vocals/FX

Performing smash hits such as “Slug Beat”, “Pleasure Center”, “Sensory Leakage”, & “This One’s For The Lovers In the House” plus more to also be heard on their forthcoming SLUG BEAT: THE ALBUM to be released later in 2026, this performance found the trio at the height of their manifestation abilities concluding a Northeast tour, & set a new chapter towards exploring the beguiling essence of what SLUG BEAT can be 🐌🌀✨

SLUG BEAT live set also now streaming on soundcloud for any previewing & listening pleasures!!! Check out audio previews in slides

SIDE B contains Pamela & her sons closing set from the night, with their supple & entrancing dreamscapes punctuated by ever-evolving inspirations, breakbeat sciences, & cloudlike nimbostratus kinetics. More of what you’ve come to know & love from PAHS decade+ as a vagabond synthesist serenading the masses that are willing to listen. 🌤️💫😎

Available NOW on beautiful orange tape dubbed by @three6sashiaa & featuring art by Pamela & her sons

SLUG BEAT & PAMELA & HER SONS - LIVE AT L&SD TAPE NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM @slug_zone @pamela__ahs @kiernanlaveaux @johnnyzoloft

SLUG BEAT & Pamela & her sons are proud to present an audio document of the performance they shared at @lightandsounddesign in NYC March 2025, alongside a stellar lineup of Matthew Regula & Bookworms + Alex Zhang Hungtai duo

Side A contains 38minutes of arcane material from SLUG BEAT - the psychedelic fusion ensemble brought to life here by SUG on guitar, JOHNNY ZOLOFT on drums, & KIERNAN LAVEAUX on samples/vocals/FX

Performing smash hits such as “Slug Beat”, “Pleasure Center”, “Sensory Leakage”, & “This One’s For The Lovers In the House” plus more to also be heard on their forthcoming SLUG BEAT: THE ALBUM to be released later in 2026, this performance found the trio at the height of their manifestation abilities concluding a Northeast tour, & set a new chapter towards exploring the beguiling essence of what SLUG BEAT can be 🐌🌀✨

SLUG BEAT live set also now streaming on soundcloud for any previewing & listening pleasures!!! Check out audio previews in slides

SIDE B contains Pamela & her sons closing set from the night, with their supple & entrancing dreamscapes punctuated by ever-evolving inspirations, breakbeat sciences, & cloudlike nimbostratus kinetics. More of what you’ve come to know & love from PAHS decade+ as a vagabond synthesist serenading the masses that are willing to listen. 🌤️💫😎

Available NOW on beautiful orange tape dubbed by @three6sashiaa & featuring art by Pamela & her sons

SLUG BEAT & PAMELA & HER SONS - LIVE AT L&SD TAPE NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM @slug_zone @pamela__ahs @kiernanlaveaux @johnnyzoloft

SLUG BEAT & Pamela & her sons are proud to present an audio document of the performance they shared at @lightandsounddesign in NYC March 2025, alongside a stellar lineup of Matthew Regula & Bookworms + Alex Zhang Hungtai duo

Side A contains 38minutes of arcane material from SLUG BEAT - the psychedelic fusion ensemble brought to life here by SUG on guitar, JOHNNY ZOLOFT on drums, & KIERNAN LAVEAUX on samples/vocals/FX

Performing smash hits such as “Slug Beat”, “Pleasure Center”, “Sensory Leakage”, & “This One’s For The Lovers In the House” plus more to also be heard on their forthcoming SLUG BEAT: THE ALBUM to be released later in 2026, this performance found the trio at the height of their manifestation abilities concluding a Northeast tour, & set a new chapter towards exploring the beguiling essence of what SLUG BEAT can be 🐌🌀✨

SLUG BEAT live set also now streaming on soundcloud for any previewing & listening pleasures!!! Check out audio previews in slides

SIDE B contains Pamela & her sons closing set from the night, with their supple & entrancing dreamscapes punctuated by ever-evolving inspirations, breakbeat sciences, & cloudlike nimbostratus kinetics. More of what you’ve come to know & love from PAHS decade+ as a vagabond synthesist serenading the masses that are willing to listen. 🌤️💫😎

Available NOW on beautiful orange tape dubbed by @three6sashiaa & featuring art by Pamela & her sons

SLUG BEAT & PAMELA & HER SONS - LIVE AT L&SD TAPE NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM @slug_zone @pamela__ahs @kiernanlaveaux @johnnyzoloft

SLUG BEAT & Pamela & her sons are proud to present an audio document of the performance they shared at @lightandsounddesign in NYC March 2025, alongside a stellar lineup of Matthew Regula & Bookworms + Alex Zhang Hungtai duo

Side A contains 38minutes of arcane material from SLUG BEAT - the psychedelic fusion ensemble brought to life here by SUG on guitar, JOHNNY ZOLOFT on drums, & KIERNAN LAVEAUX on samples/vocals/FX

Performing smash hits such as “Slug Beat”, “Pleasure Center”, “Sensory Leakage”, & “This One’s For The Lovers In the House” plus more to also be heard on their forthcoming SLUG BEAT: THE ALBUM to be released later in 2026, this performance found the trio at the height of their manifestation abilities concluding a Northeast tour, & set a new chapter towards exploring the beguiling essence of what SLUG BEAT can be 🐌🌀✨

SLUG BEAT live set also now streaming on soundcloud for any previewing & listening pleasures!!! Check out audio previews in slides

SIDE B contains Pamela & her sons closing set from the night, with their supple & entrancing dreamscapes punctuated by ever-evolving inspirations, breakbeat sciences, & cloudlike nimbostratus kinetics. More of what you’ve come to know & love from PAHS decade+ as a vagabond synthesist serenading the masses that are willing to listen. 🌤️💫😎

Available NOW on beautiful orange tape dubbed by @three6sashiaa & featuring art by Pamela & her sons

SLUG BEAT & PAMELA & HER SONS - LIVE AT L&SD TAPE NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM @slug_zone @pamela__ahs @kiernanlaveaux @johnnyzoloft

SLUG BEAT & Pamela & her sons are proud to present an audio document of the performance they shared at @lightandsounddesign in NYC March 2025, alongside a stellar lineup of Matthew Regula & Bookworms + Alex Zhang Hungtai duo

Side A contains 38minutes of arcane material from SLUG BEAT - the psychedelic fusion ensemble brought to life here by SUG on guitar, JOHNNY ZOLOFT on drums, & KIERNAN LAVEAUX on samples/vocals/FX

Performing smash hits such as “Slug Beat”, “Pleasure Center”, “Sensory Leakage”, & “This One’s For The Lovers In the House” plus more to also be heard on their forthcoming SLUG BEAT: THE ALBUM to be released later in 2026, this performance found the trio at the height of their manifestation abilities concluding a Northeast tour, & set a new chapter towards exploring the beguiling essence of what SLUG BEAT can be 🐌🌀✨

SLUG BEAT live set also now streaming on soundcloud for any previewing & listening pleasures!!! Check out audio previews in slides

SIDE B contains Pamela & her sons closing set from the night, with their supple & entrancing dreamscapes punctuated by ever-evolving inspirations, breakbeat sciences, & cloudlike nimbostratus kinetics. More of what you’ve come to know & love from PAHS decade+ as a vagabond synthesist serenading the masses that are willing to listen. 🌤️💫😎

Available NOW on beautiful orange tape dubbed by @three6sashiaa & featuring art by Pamela & her sons

Celebrate 3 YEARS of SWEET ABYSS with a WEEKEND of live music, DJs and audiovisual art.

FRIDAY 2-27 @ WOOD STREET GALLERIES
8PM - MIDNIGHT | 21+ | TICKETED $10-$30 (link in bio)

♡ MOURNING [A] BLKSTAR (live!)
♡ RUSSELL E.L. BUTLER X MIRA MIRA (live!)
♡ SLUG BEAT (live!) [Sug + Kiernan Laveaux + Johnny Zoloft]
♡ FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (dj!)

Hosted by Miss Carrie Sours ♡ Sound by Liftgate ♡ Drinks by TLC Libations ♡ Food by Manduhandu

5:30PM - 8PM | ALL AGES | FREE

♡ DAVIS GALVIN X JULES MALICE [Malzof] (audiovisual installation!)

SATURDAY 2-28 @ PGH NORTHSIDE
5PM - MIDNIGHT | 21+ | $10-30 at door

♡ SOLD
♡ RUSSELL E.L. BUTLER
♡ MIRA MIRA X JOHNNY ZOLOFT
♡ CARRIE SOURS X DAVIS GALVIN X MALZOF

$5 hot plates & soft drinks available

On FRIDAY night, The Wood Street Galleries opens itself up to Sweet Abyss. First from 5:30 - 8 PM, all are welcome to explore the second floor audio-visual installation by Davis Galvin and Jules Malice (Malzof).

Then from 8PM - midnight, it will turn into a 21+ ticketed live music event featuring Mourning [A] BLKstar (live), Russell E.L. Butler x MIRA MIRA (live), Slug Beat (Sug + Kiernan Laveaux + Johnny Zoloft) (live), and Funeral Parade of Roses (DJ). These artists represent a deep range of family that music has brought together inside the Sweet Abyss multiverse over the years, bringing everything from angular industrial rhythms, diasporic electronic illuminations, exploratory realms of fusion, vision, and groove - and as always, the chaotic vagabond spirit of so-called transgender dance music :)

On SATURDAY night, we continue on in this spirit for an evening of DJing at a secret cozy concave. Sweet Abyss residents Carrie Sours x Davis Galvin x Malzof will warm up the space passing the energy to special friends and collaborators in sensuous dancefloor cacophony Johnny Zoloft x MIRA MIRA.

Russell E.L. Butler returns for the second night, this time with DJ selections and stylings immersed in their signature sway and depth, followed by special guest SOLD who will conclude the three-year anniversary weekend with their evocative forays into deep listening in its myriad forms.

Celebrate 3 YEARS of SWEET ABYSS with a WEEKEND of live music, DJs and audiovisual art.

FRIDAY 2-27 @ WOOD STREET GALLERIES
8PM - MIDNIGHT | 21+ | TICKETED $10-$30 (link in bio)

♡ MOURNING [A] BLKSTAR (live!)
♡ RUSSELL E.L. BUTLER X MIRA MIRA (live!)
♡ SLUG BEAT (live!) [Sug + Kiernan Laveaux + Johnny Zoloft]
♡ FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (dj!)

Hosted by Miss Carrie Sours ♡ Sound by Liftgate ♡ Drinks by TLC Libations ♡ Food by Manduhandu

5:30PM - 8PM | ALL AGES | FREE

♡ DAVIS GALVIN X JULES MALICE [Malzof] (audiovisual installation!)

SATURDAY 2-28 @ PGH NORTHSIDE
5PM - MIDNIGHT | 21+ | $10-30 at door

♡ SOLD
♡ RUSSELL E.L. BUTLER
♡ MIRA MIRA X JOHNNY ZOLOFT
♡ CARRIE SOURS X DAVIS GALVIN X MALZOF

$5 hot plates & soft drinks available

On FRIDAY night, The Wood Street Galleries opens itself up to Sweet Abyss. First from 5:30 - 8 PM, all are welcome to explore the second floor audio-visual installation by Davis Galvin and Jules Malice (Malzof).

Then from 8PM - midnight, it will turn into a 21+ ticketed live music event featuring Mourning [A] BLKstar (live), Russell E.L. Butler x MIRA MIRA (live), Slug Beat (Sug + Kiernan Laveaux + Johnny Zoloft) (live), and Funeral Parade of Roses (DJ). These artists represent a deep range of family that music has brought together inside the Sweet Abyss multiverse over the years, bringing everything from angular industrial rhythms, diasporic electronic illuminations, exploratory realms of fusion, vision, and groove - and as always, the chaotic vagabond spirit of so-called transgender dance music :)

On SATURDAY night, we continue on in this spirit for an evening of DJing at a secret cozy concave. Sweet Abyss residents Carrie Sours x Davis Galvin x Malzof will warm up the space passing the energy to special friends and collaborators in sensuous dancefloor cacophony Johnny Zoloft x MIRA MIRA.

Russell E.L. Butler returns for the second night, this time with DJ selections and stylings immersed in their signature sway and depth, followed by special guest SOLD who will conclude the three-year anniversary weekend with their evocative forays into deep listening in its myriad forms.

eva said i needed to post this again lol

in case yall forgot i make dumb videos with the vibraphone sometimes

circa 2018

Next Friday JZKL LIVE EDITION descends upon humanity once again… NYC debut from 2 to 3 am for the sickening @accessoryrecords release party also featuring @0_conduit @razrbark and @bnblck .. in dangerous company 🔪

pull up 🩸

chiming in to share some audio & visual documentation of johnny zoloft and kiernan laveaux deejaying for Those Who Were There at lot mass 2025

this mix is live online and KL says “Play it loud & dance”

we were chatting a lot in preparation for this set about what “midwest music” means to us, or rather, how the idea of midwest music refracts through our own beings and comes out in variously unique and beautiful ways - always in conversation with the source, but never in pale imitation. that’s the idea, at least - the reality was more fuzzy and improvised, with my own brother joining us at the last minute for the opening portion on saxophone, and really we were just having fun and feeling it out as it happened :)

grateful to all of the kinetic queens and fabulous steppers who turned up at noon on monday of memorial day weekend to jointly create a moment in time with us and the musik, as well as of course the beautiful people of detroit and the staff at tangent gallery for keeping the spirit alive

personally speaking, this was A Big Deal for me, as the lot mass dancefloor is where I got my egg cracked back in 2019 and learned about What It Can All Mean for one of the first times: the unpredictable fortune of all of the factors aligning such that the portal opens (sun, gay people, soundsystem, music, context, et cetera) !!

fortunately for us and for Those Who Were There, the portal did indeed open on that Monday. the memory of that moment has energized and protected me since then, and now it is all available online for your listening pleasure.. don’t expect it to hit the same, as nothing ever really does after being converted to 1s and 0s and cast to a satellite and back.. but hey it’s still some great musik 😉

chiming in to share some audio & visual documentation of johnny zoloft and kiernan laveaux deejaying for Those Who Were There at lot mass 2025

this mix is live online and KL says “Play it loud & dance”

we were chatting a lot in preparation for this set about what “midwest music” means to us, or rather, how the idea of midwest music refracts through our own beings and comes out in variously unique and beautiful ways - always in conversation with the source, but never in pale imitation. that’s the idea, at least - the reality was more fuzzy and improvised, with my own brother joining us at the last minute for the opening portion on saxophone, and really we were just having fun and feeling it out as it happened :)

grateful to all of the kinetic queens and fabulous steppers who turned up at noon on monday of memorial day weekend to jointly create a moment in time with us and the musik, as well as of course the beautiful people of detroit and the staff at tangent gallery for keeping the spirit alive

personally speaking, this was A Big Deal for me, as the lot mass dancefloor is where I got my egg cracked back in 2019 and learned about What It Can All Mean for one of the first times: the unpredictable fortune of all of the factors aligning such that the portal opens (sun, gay people, soundsystem, music, context, et cetera) !!

fortunately for us and for Those Who Were There, the portal did indeed open on that Monday. the memory of that moment has energized and protected me since then, and now it is all available online for your listening pleasure.. don’t expect it to hit the same, as nothing ever really does after being converted to 1s and 0s and cast to a satellite and back.. but hey it’s still some great musik 😉

chiming in to share some audio & visual documentation of johnny zoloft and kiernan laveaux deejaying for Those Who Were There at lot mass 2025

this mix is live online and KL says “Play it loud & dance”

we were chatting a lot in preparation for this set about what “midwest music” means to us, or rather, how the idea of midwest music refracts through our own beings and comes out in variously unique and beautiful ways - always in conversation with the source, but never in pale imitation. that’s the idea, at least - the reality was more fuzzy and improvised, with my own brother joining us at the last minute for the opening portion on saxophone, and really we were just having fun and feeling it out as it happened :)

grateful to all of the kinetic queens and fabulous steppers who turned up at noon on monday of memorial day weekend to jointly create a moment in time with us and the musik, as well as of course the beautiful people of detroit and the staff at tangent gallery for keeping the spirit alive

personally speaking, this was A Big Deal for me, as the lot mass dancefloor is where I got my egg cracked back in 2019 and learned about What It Can All Mean for one of the first times: the unpredictable fortune of all of the factors aligning such that the portal opens (sun, gay people, soundsystem, music, context, et cetera) !!

fortunately for us and for Those Who Were There, the portal did indeed open on that Monday. the memory of that moment has energized and protected me since then, and now it is all available online for your listening pleasure.. don’t expect it to hit the same, as nothing ever really does after being converted to 1s and 0s and cast to a satellite and back.. but hey it’s still some great musik 😉

chiming in to share some audio & visual documentation of johnny zoloft and kiernan laveaux deejaying for Those Who Were There at lot mass 2025

this mix is live online and KL says “Play it loud & dance”

we were chatting a lot in preparation for this set about what “midwest music” means to us, or rather, how the idea of midwest music refracts through our own beings and comes out in variously unique and beautiful ways - always in conversation with the source, but never in pale imitation. that’s the idea, at least - the reality was more fuzzy and improvised, with my own brother joining us at the last minute for the opening portion on saxophone, and really we were just having fun and feeling it out as it happened :)

grateful to all of the kinetic queens and fabulous steppers who turned up at noon on monday of memorial day weekend to jointly create a moment in time with us and the musik, as well as of course the beautiful people of detroit and the staff at tangent gallery for keeping the spirit alive

personally speaking, this was A Big Deal for me, as the lot mass dancefloor is where I got my egg cracked back in 2019 and learned about What It Can All Mean for one of the first times: the unpredictable fortune of all of the factors aligning such that the portal opens (sun, gay people, soundsystem, music, context, et cetera) !!

fortunately for us and for Those Who Were There, the portal did indeed open on that Monday. the memory of that moment has energized and protected me since then, and now it is all available online for your listening pleasure.. don’t expect it to hit the same, as nothing ever really does after being converted to 1s and 0s and cast to a satellite and back.. but hey it’s still some great musik 😉

chiming in to share some audio & visual documentation of johnny zoloft and kiernan laveaux deejaying for Those Who Were There at lot mass 2025

this mix is live online and KL says “Play it loud & dance”

we were chatting a lot in preparation for this set about what “midwest music” means to us, or rather, how the idea of midwest music refracts through our own beings and comes out in variously unique and beautiful ways - always in conversation with the source, but never in pale imitation. that’s the idea, at least - the reality was more fuzzy and improvised, with my own brother joining us at the last minute for the opening portion on saxophone, and really we were just having fun and feeling it out as it happened :)

grateful to all of the kinetic queens and fabulous steppers who turned up at noon on monday of memorial day weekend to jointly create a moment in time with us and the musik, as well as of course the beautiful people of detroit and the staff at tangent gallery for keeping the spirit alive

personally speaking, this was A Big Deal for me, as the lot mass dancefloor is where I got my egg cracked back in 2019 and learned about What It Can All Mean for one of the first times: the unpredictable fortune of all of the factors aligning such that the portal opens (sun, gay people, soundsystem, music, context, et cetera) !!

fortunately for us and for Those Who Were There, the portal did indeed open on that Monday. the memory of that moment has energized and protected me since then, and now it is all available online for your listening pleasure.. don’t expect it to hit the same, as nothing ever really does after being converted to 1s and 0s and cast to a satellite and back.. but hey it’s still some great musik 😉

The phase shift from No Way Back’s nocturne rave acrobatics to Lot Mass’ sunkissed daytime salon is always a sight to behold: an eclectic mixture of smoked out ravers emerging from the depths of Tangent Gallery, freshly showered music heads taking in the Memorial Day sun, & multi-generational dancers defying category or definition, the day feels infinite, & the musical possibilities especially so, bookending the weekend’s mayhem. This year, Johnny Zoloft and Kiernan Laveaux took the post-Scott Z morning baton pass into further realms of house music in the beyond, equipped with nothing but two turntables, Alpha Theta Club Standard DJ Gear, & a surprise special guest: Baltimore saxophonist (and Johnny Zoloft’s brother) Shane Kelly, blowing raucous textures over abyssal blends under the midday sun, as they beckoned dancers towards their final day of Detroit Electronic Music Celebrations.

Reinvigorating the floor & painting with bold brushstrokes on a kinetic eisel, Laveaux’s xenofeminist inclinations and the duo’s expert dubwise FX manipulation enticed the crowd and provided succulent ear candy throughout the set. Further entrancing dancers into endless movement after No Way Back’s 12 hour marathon in the mind palace, they brought forth a unique vision of so-called Midwest dance music - conjuring soundscapes as informed by the expanses of Detroit’s storied history & multi-lane highways as it is by the DMV’s intersection of funk stylistics, punk attitude, & Sing Sing breakbeats, the expansive mountain ranges & hidden wonders of Appalachia, & northeast Ohio’s irreverent sonic dialectics birthed from the backdrop of industry & decay. All of these combine to form something greater than the sum of it’s parts - an audio cauldron of what makes the midwest so rife with electrified mojo, brought to you by simply another bold presentation of groove, energy, & harmonious cacophony on a special Memorial day afternoon.

Graphic by: @jmal_malzof
Mastered by: @beaulezard

The phase shift from No Way Back’s nocturne rave acrobatics to Lot Mass’ sunkissed daytime salon is always a sight to behold: an eclectic mixture of smoked out ravers emerging from the depths of Tangent Gallery, freshly showered music heads taking in the Memorial Day sun, & multi-generational dancers defying category or definition, the day feels infinite, & the musical possibilities especially so, bookending the weekend’s mayhem. This year, Johnny Zoloft and Kiernan Laveaux took the post-Scott Z morning baton pass into further realms of house music in the beyond, equipped with nothing but two turntables, Alpha Theta Club Standard DJ Gear, & a surprise special guest: Baltimore saxophonist (and Johnny Zoloft’s brother) Shane Kelly, blowing raucous textures over abyssal blends under the midday sun, as they beckoned dancers towards their final day of Detroit Electronic Music Celebrations.

Reinvigorating the floor & painting with bold brushstrokes on a kinetic eisel, Laveaux’s xenofeminist inclinations and the duo’s expert dubwise FX manipulation enticed the crowd and provided succulent ear candy throughout the set. Further entrancing dancers into endless movement after No Way Back’s 12 hour marathon in the mind palace, they brought forth a unique vision of so-called Midwest dance music - conjuring soundscapes as informed by the expanses of Detroit’s storied history & multi-lane highways as it is by the DMV’s intersection of funk stylistics, punk attitude, & Sing Sing breakbeats, the expansive mountain ranges & hidden wonders of Appalachia, & northeast Ohio’s irreverent sonic dialectics birthed from the backdrop of industry & decay. All of these combine to form something greater than the sum of it’s parts - an audio cauldron of what makes the midwest so rife with electrified mojo, brought to you by simply another bold presentation of groove, energy, & harmonious cacophony on a special Memorial day afternoon.

Graphic by: @jmal_malzof
Mastered by: @beaulezard

The phase shift from No Way Back’s nocturne rave acrobatics to Lot Mass’ sunkissed daytime salon is always a sight to behold: an eclectic mixture of smoked out ravers emerging from the depths of Tangent Gallery, freshly showered music heads taking in the Memorial Day sun, & multi-generational dancers defying category or definition, the day feels infinite, & the musical possibilities especially so, bookending the weekend’s mayhem. This year, Johnny Zoloft and Kiernan Laveaux took the post-Scott Z morning baton pass into further realms of house music in the beyond, equipped with nothing but two turntables, Alpha Theta Club Standard DJ Gear, & a surprise special guest: Baltimore saxophonist (and Johnny Zoloft’s brother) Shane Kelly, blowing raucous textures over abyssal blends under the midday sun, as they beckoned dancers towards their final day of Detroit Electronic Music Celebrations.

Reinvigorating the floor & painting with bold brushstrokes on a kinetic eisel, Laveaux’s xenofeminist inclinations and the duo’s expert dubwise FX manipulation enticed the crowd and provided succulent ear candy throughout the set. Further entrancing dancers into endless movement after No Way Back’s 12 hour marathon in the mind palace, they brought forth a unique vision of so-called Midwest dance music - conjuring soundscapes as informed by the expanses of Detroit’s storied history & multi-lane highways as it is by the DMV’s intersection of funk stylistics, punk attitude, & Sing Sing breakbeats, the expansive mountain ranges & hidden wonders of Appalachia, & northeast Ohio’s irreverent sonic dialectics birthed from the backdrop of industry & decay. All of these combine to form something greater than the sum of it’s parts - an audio cauldron of what makes the midwest so rife with electrified mojo, brought to you by simply another bold presentation of groove, energy, & harmonious cacophony on a special Memorial day afternoon.

Graphic by: @jmal_malzof
Mastered by: @beaulezard

The phase shift from No Way Back’s nocturne rave acrobatics to Lot Mass’ sunkissed daytime salon is always a sight to behold: an eclectic mixture of smoked out ravers emerging from the depths of Tangent Gallery, freshly showered music heads taking in the Memorial Day sun, & multi-generational dancers defying category or definition, the day feels infinite, & the musical possibilities especially so, bookending the weekend’s mayhem. This year, Johnny Zoloft and Kiernan Laveaux took the post-Scott Z morning baton pass into further realms of house music in the beyond, equipped with nothing but two turntables, Alpha Theta Club Standard DJ Gear, & a surprise special guest: Baltimore saxophonist (and Johnny Zoloft’s brother) Shane Kelly, blowing raucous textures over abyssal blends under the midday sun, as they beckoned dancers towards their final day of Detroit Electronic Music Celebrations.

Reinvigorating the floor & painting with bold brushstrokes on a kinetic eisel, Laveaux’s xenofeminist inclinations and the duo’s expert dubwise FX manipulation enticed the crowd and provided succulent ear candy throughout the set. Further entrancing dancers into endless movement after No Way Back’s 12 hour marathon in the mind palace, they brought forth a unique vision of so-called Midwest dance music - conjuring soundscapes as informed by the expanses of Detroit’s storied history & multi-lane highways as it is by the DMV’s intersection of funk stylistics, punk attitude, & Sing Sing breakbeats, the expansive mountain ranges & hidden wonders of Appalachia, & northeast Ohio’s irreverent sonic dialectics birthed from the backdrop of industry & decay. All of these combine to form something greater than the sum of it’s parts - an audio cauldron of what makes the midwest so rife with electrified mojo, brought to you by simply another bold presentation of groove, energy, & harmonious cacophony on a special Memorial day afternoon.

Graphic by: @jmal_malzof
Mastered by: @beaulezard

The phase shift from No Way Back’s nocturne rave acrobatics to Lot Mass’ sunkissed daytime salon is always a sight to behold: an eclectic mixture of smoked out ravers emerging from the depths of Tangent Gallery, freshly showered music heads taking in the Memorial Day sun, & multi-generational dancers defying category or definition, the day feels infinite, & the musical possibilities especially so, bookending the weekend’s mayhem. This year, Johnny Zoloft and Kiernan Laveaux took the post-Scott Z morning baton pass into further realms of house music in the beyond, equipped with nothing but two turntables, Alpha Theta Club Standard DJ Gear, & a surprise special guest: Baltimore saxophonist (and Johnny Zoloft’s brother) Shane Kelly, blowing raucous textures over abyssal blends under the midday sun, as they beckoned dancers towards their final day of Detroit Electronic Music Celebrations.

Reinvigorating the floor & painting with bold brushstrokes on a kinetic eisel, Laveaux’s xenofeminist inclinations and the duo’s expert dubwise FX manipulation enticed the crowd and provided succulent ear candy throughout the set. Further entrancing dancers into endless movement after No Way Back’s 12 hour marathon in the mind palace, they brought forth a unique vision of so-called Midwest dance music - conjuring soundscapes as informed by the expanses of Detroit’s storied history & multi-lane highways as it is by the DMV’s intersection of funk stylistics, punk attitude, & Sing Sing breakbeats, the expansive mountain ranges & hidden wonders of Appalachia, & northeast Ohio’s irreverent sonic dialectics birthed from the backdrop of industry & decay. All of these combine to form something greater than the sum of it’s parts - an audio cauldron of what makes the midwest so rife with electrified mojo, brought to you by simply another bold presentation of groove, energy, & harmonious cacophony on a special Memorial day afternoon.

Graphic by: @jmal_malzof
Mastered by: @beaulezard