RESILIENCE: A Sonic Tribute to the Queer History of Club Music
Thursday, May 24th – Sunday, May 27th 

Opening, 7pm, May 24th
Flux on the Floor, 9pm May 25th
Open Studio, 2pm – 8pm, May 26th
Artist Talk, 2pm May 27th
RSVP here 

Jess Dilday, Flux Factory artist-in-residence also known as their DJ/producer persona PlayPlay, will debut their ongoing soundscape project exploring the queer history of electronic club music, starting from early disco and ending at the underground club scenes of today. In this early reveal of a much bigger project, PlayPlay is hoping to gain feedback, find potential collaborators, and compile conversations and stories from people who have been a part of the NYC nightclub scene for years.

Nightclubs, since even before the days of early disco, were created to provide safe(r) spaces for escape, freedom, & debauchery – particularly for Black & Latinx LGBTQ clubgoers who constantly face dangerous situations outside of the nightclub. Over the years, white cis heterosexual men have taken electronic music and capitalized on it, eventually bringing it into the mainstream under the hyperbrand “EDM.”  Nevertheless, queer underground music scenes have consistently persisted and continue to thrive, creatively pushing music in ways that are years ahead of the mainstream (much like the queer impact on visual arts & fashion). The installation attempts to address this resilience sonically, weaving together club music from past to present, sound bytes from clubgoers, & subliminal sonic textures to juxtapose the fantasy & danger ever-present throughout the history of club music. 

This installation opens at 7pm on Thursday evening, May 24th, with an artist talk by PlayPlay, as well as an open call for public discussion on the role club spaces have played in people’s lives, audience memories of attending clubs over the years in NYC (and beyond), and how nightclubs can serve as sacred spaces for attendees, particularly for queer and trans people of color. PlayPlay will also be compiling a giant “best of” playlist where people can write their favorite nightclub tracks, the ones where you completely lose yourself in the moment.

On Friday the 25th, Flux Factory will host a giant dance party from 9pm-1am benefitting their upcoming group residency at ARoS Public (Denmark). Flux Factory resident DJs Vinyl Richie and Sponsored Lynx will join PlayPlay in providing a continuous mix of club music, from early disco to current underground club music staples. This party will serve as a live expansion on the installation theme in which everyone can get free on the dancefloor.

On Saturday the 26th, PlayPlay will fine-tune their soundscape in an open studio format, inviting feedback, commentary, and spontaneous dancing throughout the day.

Finally, on Sunday the 27th, the installation will close out with an afternoon artist talk and reflection at 2pm, inviting final feedback and discussion about potential next steps for this project. And then, you guessed it, a dance party 🙂