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.

Mastered By: @m-parent
Mix Graphic By: @malzof

Recorded Live at Lot Mass 2025 (During Return to the Source 25 @ Tangent Gallery)

Sweet Abyss

MASS CAST 035: Johnny Zoloft B2B Kiernan Laveaux @ Lot Mass

Services every Sat/Sunday morning, 11pm-7am
1139 Penn Ave, Downtown Pittsburgh

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Aaron Clark / @humanaut-aaron (Honcho / Humanaut)
Alex Price / @alex_price (Detour)
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d'Adhemar / @dadhemar (Honcho)
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