BEMF, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK Omar-S
ON THE FLOOR
Brooklyn Calling
Taking over New York’s nightlife centre, Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival provides an underground workout to balance out the excesses of EDM…
W
hile EDM gets its Big Apple kicks via Electric Zoo and Electric Daisy Carnival, the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, or BEMF, has been bringing local and
international underground electronic music artists together for five years in the Williamsburg neighborhood. Between lack of space and the unsustainable cost of living as Manhattan’s sky-high rents continue to rise, Brooklyn has fast come up as one of the city’s (and the country’s) artistic hubs. From the built up riverfront of Williamsburg and the artist lofts in DUMBO to the soundsystem-ready warehouses of Bushwick, there are enough spaces, clubs, and bars that even this correspondent rarely finds herself leaving the area for anything musical. Yes, it makes all the sense in the world that instead of a NYCEMF we get a BEMF here, and a very good one at that.
Our DJ Mag USA team pick up our passes in the dedicated BEMF parking lot and walk across the street to Public Assembly, a two room venue known for its well-curated gigs and club nights. London’s Deadboy is already warming up in front, with Glaswegian record label Numbers taking over for the evening. It’s not long before he fills the initially empty space up with garage, Maurice Fulton-style boogie, old Strictly Rhythm house jams, and (most importantly) people. By the time Omar-S comes on we are sufficiently warmed up and dancing. The Detroit don takes us on an almost three hour journey through Motown, soulful house, Motor City techno, and beyond as the time flies by. He even manages to elicit extra cheers from the already wholly enthralled crowd during his own tracks; the filtered ebb and flow of the Supremes sample on ‘Day’ and twinkling stabs of ‘Here’s Your Trance, Now Dance!!’ opening floodgates of unbridled joy and drunken revelry throughout. We briefly leave to catch Photek take the stage at the much larger Music Hall Of Williamsburg venue next door. The eclectic English producer is all smiles as he goes for a big-room sound that’s enjoyable, especially when hearing Carl Craig’s menacing re-edit of Appleblim & Ramadanman’s ‘Void 23’ on the club’s booming system, but we don’t stay long for fear of missing anymore of Omar-S’s magic.
We lose ourselves once more as Omar-S passes the baton to one of Numbers’ head honchos, Jackmaster, who executes a peak-time set of nearly constant bangers with the finesse that only someone quite as skilled at playing records as him can do. As 2.30am
comes and goes, one would expect things to be dying down after such a satisfying night of music but in fact the best crowds and overall vibe of the night are only beginning as we head to the nearby Cameo Gallery space to see Metro Area. The Brooklyn-based duo have been personal favorites for years and they don’t disappoint, closing out the night with a late-night medley of classic house, deep house, disco, and more for the slightly older, tuned in, and friendly crowd.
We assemble on Saturday and find the festival to be far busier. A quick scan of our surroundings clue us in; Nicolas Jaar is headlining Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight and is by far and away the biggest draw of the festival, pulling in the usual BEMF crowd plus a large gig-going contingent who buy tickets solely to see him. Back in Public Assembly, curated by the Friends of Friends label tonight, Brooklyn’s Braille is premiering loads of fantastic new chugging house tracks that he’s been incubating for not-too-distant release. After a quick wander to the other BEMF venues of Glasslands, 285 Kent, and Brooklyn Bowl, we return to Cameo Gallery where London’s Deviation team have taken over for the evening. Brooklyn’s talented FaltyDL serves up a beautifully crafted set that traverses bass music, house, garage, and even afrobeat as he ends with Fela Kuti’s masterpiece ‘Water No Get Enemy’. Deviation main man Benji B is on next and goes between the mic and the music, visibly pleased to see everyone having such a great time. We make a quick attempt to catch a bit of man of the hour Nicolas Jaar’s set over at Music Hall, but there is barely enough room to make it into the back of the venue so we rely on our friends’ gushing texts to report that he plays an apparently fantastic gig. Pearson Sound, also known as Ramadanman and Maurice Donovan, finishes out Cameo Gallery with a moody set of tensile bass music and fervent, reductionist beats that make us a bit homesick for the UK and the whole Hessle Audio scene that we’re always wishing would play here more regularly. We then head east into the industrial abyss of Bushwick for the Official BEMF Afters. Thrown by the seasoned Rinsed crew, them and their up-for-it yet downright and delightfully bizarre regulars mingle and dance behind a sexy shroud of smoke machines and unfaltering pink and purple lights. DJ Mag carries on well into brunch time as a fitting end in celebrating the borough of Brooklyn’s incredibly unique, diverse and continuously expanding electronic music scene. ZARA WLADAWSKY
www.djmag.com
Pearson Sound
Benji B
Metro Area 037
Pics: STEPHANIE KIMBERLY
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