Forward / Scratch presents: Long Play, a discussion platform for building a transformative model of nightlife rooted in liberation, community and artist-empowerment, and overcoming the extractionist and unsustainable nature of the scene as it stands. 

This project begins from a basic question: with the precarious state of nightlife, how do we create the scene we truly want? 

Hosted by Cat Tran and Erick Nidal, Long Play will adopt a community-driven model that crowdsources ideas to cover and the voices we’d like to hear.

About this episode

Could you ever own a nightclub? Why are we seemingly drowning in vacant luxury condos but even well-attended clubs are going bankrupt? Should the government play a role in supporting nightlife? What has New York City done recently to support nightlife? Who decides whether a nightclub gets to open or not? How can nightlife workers earn a living, and how can we leverage our day jobs to support nightlife? Are nightclubs even meant to last forever?

We spoke with DJ Tara, a pillar of the New York nightlife community both as a legendary musical curator and expert in urban planning and development. Tara grew up in the Haitian community of Flatbush and went to school for Engineering and Urban Planning. She’s worked in developing supportive housing for seniors and the unhoused, knows the ins and outs of city planning from her time working for the Manhattan Borough President, and was a contributor to the Global Nightlife Recovery Plan for COVID-19.

This is the first half of a 2-part interview with DJ Tara exploring these questions and more.

What is the future of nightclubs? w/ DJ Tara | Part 1

https://sweetabyss.bandcamp.com/album/jzkl-pancake-of-the-infinite

listen to JZKL - PANCAKE OF THE INFINITE

@sweetabyssmusic

U.S. bookings + inquiries: kiernanlaveaux@gmail.com

ROW booking: alex@biota.agency

Kiernan Laveaux is a connective rhythmic energy conduit & ecstatic beat conductor from the Great Lakes.

A boundless ball of discordant energy, she’s an adventurous spirit - conducting the vibrant forces of our world that are transmitted through the unbridled passion contained within her DJing. 

As a “one-of-a-kind American DJ”, she’s best known for her arcane technical skill, propulsive dancefloor catharsis, & hyper-creative approach behind the decks. 

Originating from within Cleveland's multiversal electronic underground, she materialized through the rhythms of life & her loved ones - inspired by forces of universal chaos, the experimentalism and joy found within midwestern electronic music, & the infamous In Training, Heaven is in You, Disco Paradiso parties manifested by herself & loved ones in Cleveland, she's since embarked on a lifelong journey of channeling binary dissolving phenomena throughout our known universe via her unbridled musical vitality & the multifaceted Sweet Abyss imprint.

The music she plays is all-embracing & expansive, but unified by a restless sense of ecstatic momentum, dissonant euphoria, & kinetic exuberance - all woven together by entrancing pulsations of uninhibited groove & rhythmatic sensation.

Over the past decade, her ethos of community building, passionate autonomy, and transportative psychedelia has grown to encompass the creators of possible worlds everywhere - releasing a vast array of mixes and live recordings available for your listening pleasure, as well  playing iconic & transformative sets at worldwide rave destinations including Freerotation, Draaimolen, WHOLE United Queer Festival, an anarchist bookstore in Ohio, Honcho Campout, Return to the Source, a train car in Wisconsin, a woodworking studio in Oregon, a gas station turned into a restaurant in Texas, Club Toilet in Detroit, Sustain-Release, a USPS shipping container in Virginia, a dub soundsystem club in Poland, and wherever else fun you’d love to have her play next.

Palestinian DJ and international relations specialist based in NYC, looking to keep the sacred tradition of soul-filled underground house music alive.

bookings: ericknidalbookings at gmail 

DJ / Intermedia Artist / Sweet Abyss
 
Weaving together abstracted grooves across genre, BPM and era, Malzof’s sonic journeys intersect with realms of ambient, experimental, house, techno, and beyond. Their sets enchant the dance floor with blissed-out beats, freakyfun vocals, and environmentally enhancing percussive soundscapes, ultimately showcasing their passion for storytelling, sampling, community collaboration, & dancing.


all inquiries: miraaasamiraaa@gmail.com

sonic resistance, exploration, and disruption 

pushin nrg thru the speakers 

nyc/pgh

@uhaul-disco
@dyspheric-x