Bklyn Sounds 5/14/2025—5/20/2025
This week's events include "Four Tet & Friends" / "Cosmic Music: The Celestial Songs of Alice Coltrane" / Lester St. Louis / YHWH Nailgun / Sō Percussion with Helado Negro / Sharon White + FK / + more
For the second year running, producer/DJ Kieran Hebden, better known as Four Tet, is hosting a May weekender at Under the K Bridge park in Greenpoint. And this year happens to coincide with my birthday, which inspired me to procure Dada Strain readers a discount code for both dates. If you’re interested, read on.
Hebden is, to my mind’s eye, the rare dance-music lifer who simultaneously grew in popularity, and remained committed to creative and community values. Having known Kieran in a variety of capacities for over two decades—I first wrote about his band Fridge in 1998, and last about Four Tet in 2023—I’ve found his way of working within the world greatly inspiring. Pretty much always, on his own tangent, surrounded by longtime friends and colleagues.
He’s been producing big multi-artist shows in England for well over a decade, and has once again curated an exceptional “Four Tet & Friends” program in Bklyn, a regular haunt for him since the early ‘10s: two days, two stages, each serving as specific, separate vibes—with Four Tet playing two different DJ sets a day.
Saturday is co-presented with Aurora Halal’s Mutual Dreaming party. Four Tet flies in his musical kin and occasional London collaborators (including bass gods Champion and Joy Orbison, plus junglist star Nia Archives); whereas Halal curates an international house/techno set-up of established DJs who can play the shit out of records, many of whom you’ll certainly recognize, especially if you keep up with the RA side of things
Sunday is a bit different. Touching more than a bit on both Hebden’s South Asian heritage and his constant tinkering with sounds from around the world, the second-day program presents the cornerstones of global club rhythms (albeit, thru a LDN lens). The main stage will feature Mala, of Digital Mystikz, one of dubstep’s first production crews, whose fascination with drums has made his music inter-continental; and JYOTY, whose Rinse FM radio show and Homegrown party have elevated her as a pusher of new global music, while glossing her media star and her budding superstar-DJ brand in the making.
Moreover, to curate the second stage on Sunday, Hebden worked with the UK-based Daytimers collective in producing a bill culled from the South Asian dance- and electronic-music diaspora. This includes New York’s mighty Basement Bhangra founder DJ Rekha, breakbeat superstar DJ Nikki Nair, modular synth princess Arusha Jain, and the excellent Bay Area-based duo Baalti, among others others. This one’s gonna be fun.
And Sunday coinciding with my birthday, I figured I’d try to invite as many folks as possible— friends, Dada Strain readers and otherwise. The big-ticket price being prohibitive to so many, I also wanted to make it a little financially easier for all. Shout-out to Kieran and Vincent at Bowery Presents for making this happen. Here is a 15% discount code for Saturday 5/17 and a 20% discount for Sunday 5/18, code for both is “F&F.” Hopefully see you on the dance-floor.
(Four Tet & Friends, Sat 5/17, 4p + Sun 5/18, 2p @ Under The K Bridge, Greenpoint - - use the above code for Dada Strain discount)
THIS WEEK’S SHOWS:
Frente Cumbiero is a decade-plus-old psychedelic cumbia, go-go R&B, dub and jump–up group from Bogota, co-founded and still presided over by producer/multi-instrumentalist Mario Galeano Toro. The quartet also has old-school Bklyn roots: its early singles were released by the always reliably on-point NYC Trust, which knows its way around cumbia. Speaking of knowing our away around cumbia, Adrian is Hungry is DJing to open/close. (Wed 5/14, 7p @ Elsewhere Rooftop, Bushwick - $34)
My favorite Sō Percussion is when the long-running, Brooklyn-based drums-and-more-drums quartet brings its interpretive powers to great catalogs. This four-night stand finds the group working out original songs and new arrangements by the good-natured pop experimentalist (and forever Dada Strain hero) Helado Negro, as well as British folkie Kate Stables (aka This Is the Kit). (Wed 5/14 - Sat 5/17, 7:30p @ BAM Fisher, Downtown Bklyn - $35)
The PTP family unites to celebrate one of its own. AMILES is the LA-raised, NYC-based rapper/producer/multi-disciplinary artist Adrian Miles, formerly known as HardcoreBae. In April, Miles dropped a debut full-length, Aight So Boom, a lyrically and musically compact album full of great soulful hooks, insights and late night instrumental rides. Not a drill beat or Soundcloud-rap texture in sight. Helping AMILES launch the project are Centennial Gardens (aka Dreamcrusher & Geng), Morivivi, and a DJ set by subt.le b2b Yung Mayne. The flier also promises a “special guest.” (Thurs 5/15, 7p @ Trans-Pecos, Ridgewood - $10-$15 NOTAFLOF)
Longtime Dada Strain readers know my affection for YHWH Nailgun (vocalist Zack Borzone, guitarist Saguiv Rosenstock, drummer Sam Pickard and Jack Tobias on electronics) whose bass-synth-heavy take on post-hardcore has, alongside Nu Jazz, felt like a new chapter in Bklyn’s indie-rcok continuum. Others have obviously also been listening to its full-length debut, which stands up to scrutiny and then some. The quartet’s live shows are even better. Friday’s is the triumphant homecoming, flanked by the local ambient folkies LEYA, and digital noise provided by DJ E (aka Chuquimamani-Condori). Highest Recommendation! (Fri 5/16, 7p @ Elsewhere, Bushwick - $20)
The latest installment of Good Grief, another of L&SD’s electronics-heavy, improvised deep listening sessions, was supposed to include the composer Holland Andrews, but they unfortunately pulled out. Replaced by none other than Laraaji. Joining the master zither player and laughter therapist will be iiisa, the solo voice+electronics pseudonym for the isabel crespo pardo. Also on board are Good Grief curator A Place to Go and Rafa. (Fri 5/16, 7p @ L&SD Studio, Greenpoint - $25-$35 w/RSVP)
Last year’s excavation of tapes from Alice Coltrane’s 1971 large-ensemble concert at Carnegie Hall presented a historic connection between the artist, whose surging popularity is helping reorganize the jazz canon, and the venue, whose modern-day engagement with music of socially revolutionary nodes is…maybe lacking. The orchestra-plus program, COSMIC MUSIC: The Celestial Songs of Alice Coltrane, will be informed by both. Curated by Alice and John’s son Ravi Coltrane, who will also play tenor saxophone, featuring the vocals of daughter Michelle Coltrane, and the machines of Alice’s nephew, Steve Ellison (aka Flying Lotus), with the mighty Brandee Younger ever-present on harp. Numerous other notables will be playing, I’m sure. A rare opportunity to hear Alice’s compositions in the splendor they deserve, and to partake in her moment! (Fri 5/16, 8p @ Carnegie Hall, Manhattan - $42-$$$)
An all-day, deep-into-the-night (warm-up for Detroit?) party at Signal, one of the new, more intimate and house-minded East W’burg dance-spots, with a good soundsystem and a backyard. The DJ line-up brings together a veteran Chicago house music head, Mike Dunn, and a trio of femmes leading the generational line of great Black house/techno music, Ash Lauryn, Jenifa Mayanja and JADALAREIGN. (Sat 5/17, 1p @ Signal, East W’burg - $11-$28)
A historic NYC DJ double-bill, for those tracking the momentous occasions: Sharon White, once a regular selecter at legendary city clubs like the Paradise Garage, Studio 54 and Sound Factory (plus the only woman to have a residency at the gay men’s Hi-NRG mecca, The Saint), will for the first time share decks with François K, himself a big willie in NYC’s club history. The venue, a Midtown queer nightlife cornerstone, feels like its becoming his new quasi-monthly home, more proof that great sh*t is stirring all over Mannahatta. (S/O Bexx and Soundculture.nyc.) (Sat 5/17, 10p @ Red Eye, Manhattan - $22-$30)
Founded by DRC-in-NYC immigrant, veteran guitarist Solo De Kanto and his student Julian Alper, Orchestre Moto is a new band playing Congolese rumba. The video of their Fall 2024 gig on the Sultan Room rooftop as an octet, has been in endless rotation around the Dada home. On a Saturday night in the cramped back room of Barbès, I don’t know how it **won’t** turn into a party! (Sat 5/17, 10p @ Barbes, Park Slope - $20suggested)
The mighty Mickey Pérez brings his Bebop Porú night back to the intimate confines of the Ridgewood restaurant’s uopstairs, with its “rib cage” decor and the penetrating sound system. And he’s bringing along exceptional live musicians to play along with his Afro-Latinx-driven records: Underground System flutist/singer Domenica and veteran Bklyn percussionist Olatunji Ojore. (Sat 5/17, 10p @ Earthly Delights, Ridgewood - $10)
The reason to go hear Brian Shimkovitz, longtime operator of the excellent Awesome Tapes From Africa label, is two-fold. One is that he really does DJ on tape-decks (a feat that, 15 years later, I’ve not seen anyone else perform). The other is that, because Shimkovitz has froever limited himself to this globally persistent medium as his moded of discovery, ATFA continually features music no one else does. Once a New Yorker, Shimkovitz is permanently ensconced in Berlin (go visit his shop if you’re in Tempelhof), so the occasion to hear these recordings on a proper system like PR’s, is rare. NYC’s gnawa futurists, Saha Gnawa, open with a live set. (Sun 5/18, 3p @ Public Records, Gowanus - $20)
What began as Lester St. Louis’ Roulette residence and commission has manifested into what hints to be an exciting multi-disciplinary collaboration, nwa: a biomythographic rendering of x. In LSL’s words, it is “equal parts music, movement, and film, [delving] into real and synthesized histories of the Black diaspora,” that also features the Backwoodz rap masterminds Armand Hammer, dancer/sound-artist Bongowattz, and HxH, Lester’s machine-jazz duo with Chris Williams. Highest Recommendation! (Mon 5/19, 8p @ Roulette, Downtown Bklyn - $25adv/$30)
The always-on-point Tropical Vortex Monday weekly of futurist Latin American music, helmed by Sonido Chichadelic and Adrian Is Hungry, hosts the mighty A.B.E.L.A, a.k.a. Asociación de Bateristas Electrónicos de Latinoamerica, a.k.a el syndicato, a rotating crew of drummers and drum-machine players. One of its own, raiiio, has just dropped a wonderfully weird full-length debut, Otros Principios, which I highly recommend. (Mon 5/19, 9p @ Barbes, Park Slope - $15suggested)
The final night of Black Quantum Futurism‘s year-long residence at Performance Space brings together cornerstones in Bklyn’s creative music community in a two-part performance. Act 1 unites drummer Warren “Trae” Crudup III (Blacks’ Myths), vocalist/electronicist Shara Lunon (History Dog), and cellist/electronicist Lester St. Louis (HxH); while Act 2 will feature a solo set by singer-producer YATTA. (Tues 5/20, 7p @ Performance Space, Manhattan - $0-$50)
Another solid monthly experimental music night I occasionally sleep on: ARTIFACT is curated by sound artist Brian Wenner, and synth improviser Matthew Ryals. On Tuesday they host drone folkie Karol Konstancia and pianist Eli Wallace, as well as the potentially immense pairing of percussionist Hisham Akira Bharoocha (Kill Alters/Boredoms) and synthesist-composer Keith Fullerton Whitman, two veterans of melody, rhythm and how to make the experimental sound more funky and less laborious. (Tues 5/20, 7p @ Sleepwalk, Bushwick - $13)
MORE RECOMMENDED EVENTS:
James Hurt & friends (Wed 5/14, 7p @ Cosmic Arts, Bushwick - $TK) - ex-jazz pianist and ancestral technologist’s second improvised monthly at Joe Claussell’s store, co-produced by Dope Jams.
Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson + Alfredo Colón (Wed 5/14, 8p @ Roulette, Downtown Bklyn - $25adv/$30) - a double-bill of two immense young instrumentalist composers presenting new work with their bands - Colon’s is a quintet, Johnson’s is a 24-piece orchestra.
Akanbi x Present Sounds (Thurs 5/15, 7p @ L&SD Studio, Greenpoint - $20-$30 w/RSVP) - the excellent DJ behind the global Groovy Groovy vibes, playing a deep-listening set
Califone (Thurs 5/15, 7p @ Babys All Right, W’burg - $25) - Tim Rutilli and Ben Massarella’s *other* quietly influential Chicago indie band (besides Red Red Meat), returning for the frst time God knows how long; roots songs + blues drones at their finest.
Decade Downtown Dance Party with Justin Strauss + Shannon (Fri 5/16, 5p @ Whitney Museum, Manhattan - FREE) - one ofthe city’s great art museums celebrates ten years since moving to the base of the Highline with a freebie dance party DJ’d by two exceptional NYC selecters.
Deep Listening VIII: Ka Baird & gabby fluke-mogul + Nick Hallett + Daniel Klag (Fri 5/16, 6:30p @ Lakeside Lounge, Manhattan - $10) - a solid bill of NYC’s new musicians and improvisers, topped by a violin-meets-voice/flute duo likely to be the highlight
Chris Dave & Jason Moran Duo (Fri 5/16, 8p & 10:30p @ Blue Note, Manhattan - $$$) - in the midst of drummer Dave’s Blue Note residency, a very special night with one of the very best we have - would have put it in the full listings but…not cheap.
Sade Night with Vacations + Hasan Insane (Fri 5/16, 10p @ Onyx Room, House of Yes, Bushwick - $10-$30) - LA’s famous all-Sade music night returns to Bklyn, and my brother Hasan Insane is getting in on the action (I bet he’s been making remixes just for this).
Eli Escobar (Fri 5/16, 10p @ Good Room, Greenpoint - $22) - another week, another Eli all-nighter, another guaranteed banger.
Big Apple Solidarity Strike (B.A.S.S.) (Sat 5/17, 2p @ Earthly Delights, Ridgewood - $uggested) - when it was revealed in March that Boiler Room was purchased by a company whose parent, KKR, is a major investor in the Israeli war machine, numerous DJs quit the NYC bill of the DJ-broadcast series - B.A.S.S. is a small-scale fundraiser for those who chose to leave Boiler Room behind, featuring an army of great NYC DJs.
Dick Griffin & Andrew Drury (Sat 5/17, 8p @ Soup & Sound, Prospect-Lefferts - $20) - legendary trombone player Griffin visits drummer Drury’s living room.
Ben UFO (Sun 5/18, 6a @ Nowadays, Ridgewood - $10-$38) - in my estimation, one of the best DJs in the world, playing for six morning+afternoon Sunday hours…at the end of a Nowadays no-stop.
Metalheadz Sunday Night: Goldie, LSB & DRS (Sun 5/18, 9p @ Nowadays, Ridgewood - $27) - all-time junglist and graf writer, Bond villain and charismatic storyteller, can still make a dance-floor pop.
JADALAREIGN + Mike Servito (Mon 5/19, 10p @ Bossa Nova Civic Club, Bushwick - $10) - two of the city’s finest techno DJs on the Monday before Detroit festival weekend, helping the lucky ones who’re going to build their stamina.
Tim Berne, Devin Gray & Brandon Seabrook (Tues 5/20, 9p @ Lowlands Bar, Gowanus - $uggested) - alto saxophonist Berne’s free-jazz neighborhood-bar hang, with drummer Gray and electric guitarist Seabrook.
FILM: Pavements (open-ended, multiple daily showtimes @ Film Forum, Manhattan - $17) - it’s too long by a 25-30mins and goofy AF, but the memory of this part-doc, part-making-of-a-biopic about the one indie-rock band to rule them all, has wormed itself into my subconscious, especially Stranger Things’ Joe Keery “performance” as SM.
Another work product of tremendous value