[3.20-3.31]

If the continued flourishing and evolution of the studio has made you forget that this is still a thoroughly DIY operation, here’s a story: Last Monday, out of nowhere, the water pressure here plummeted, then flatlined, and never fully came back. We still did dance practice last Wednesday, which was only possible thanks to Benji carrying buckets across the roof to flush the toilets, but we’ve had to cancel a weeks worth of events. If we were a big club with lots of money we could have thrown some of it at this, but instead, we are at the mercy of our landlord, which is a bad place to be.

Multiple plumbers have come through, and a few days ago, they dug up the sidewalk on Huron. The culprit seems to be a decrepit valve on our connection to the city water main. I have no idea how much it would cost the city to upgrade all the water main valves in Greenpoint, but I feel like it’s less than $273 million.

The good news is that the is back online, we have water again. The bad news is that our landlord, the same one who gave us a massive rent increase this year, is refusing to give us an abatement for the month, even though (we think) not having water is pretty clearly on them. If you or a friend practices commercial real estate law and can consult with us on a pro bono basis about this, please get in touch!

This one-building utility crisis feels small compared to everything that’s happened in the world over the same time frame: Israel obliterating the ceasefire on Tuesday and killing over 400 Palestinians, Texas arresting a midwife for providing abortions, the Trump administration forcing a constitutional breakdown. Small, but also a reminder that this space is tenuous and fragile—and that we really missed seeing everyone last week. Hope to welcome you back in the coming days. Please also consider supporting this fundraiser from our friends at Forward/Scratch in support of Rajab Murtaja and his family, who are trying to survive the assault on Gaza and rebuild their homes once it stops.

-Z.B.

[KG NOTE: this one happened last night and was incredible. Apologies for the late arrival the newsletter, but rest assured we will have Elena back soon!]

3.20 | Elena Colombi and Dominika Mazurová will Present Sounds

Elena’s sets are always a ride—genre-agnostic, vibe-expansive, surprising, transporting, jarring, and of course, expert thanks to years as a producer, NTS resident, and Osàre! Editions label boss. Dominika Mazurová by contrast is all about focus tonight, sharing a selection of Slavic tunes. In addition to dinner, this Present Sounds features another multisensory element—scents by Jessica Karr, who will broadcast olfactory offerings into the air to compl(e/i)ment the sound.

3.21 | Alcove

A truly dynamic duo of self-described “23rd century folk revivalists,” Alcove is Alfredo Colón on EWI/saxophone and Hank Mason on electronics, blending together each of their yearslong practices to bring us two sets of traditional cybernetic music. For the second, they’ll be joined by very special guest Kengchakaj on synthesizers.

3.22 | Marcin Pietruszewski, Ben Kudler & Madeline Stepien

A night of highly technologically-informed, and highly rigorous experiments. Marcin is equal parts composer and researcher, an explorer of sound synthesis, formalism, sound art, computational linguistics, and psychoacoustics. He’s joined tonight by NYC sonic explorer extraordinaire Madeline Stepien, whose compositions are gorgeously and ethereally grating, and Ben Kudler, who works often with speech/text synthesis.

3.23 | Unheard: William Alexander & Lionmilk

Unheard is a music series presented by Pique-nique Records that explores listening, curiosity, and spontaneity through collaborative improvisation. An artist-in-residence leads three in-the-round performances throughout the year featuring rotating groups of multi-instrumentalists. For his first edition, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist William Alexander invites the pianist, Lionmilk, the primary solo project of Los Angeles musician/composer/producer Moki Kawaguchi, whose therapeutic compositions blend jazz, ambient, and lo-fi elements to create what he describes as "music to feel less whack to."

3.24 | Reggie Watts / KG

Most lineups would call Reggie a comedian and then list some of his better-known projects. But let’s think of him instead as one of the many experimental vocalists we’ve hosted at the studio—a rapper, beatboxer, keyboardist, and possessor of a four-octave range. We’re excited to host him and hear what he does in the space. A note: we want to keep this one in the family. We are only announcing this on the newsletter [a practice that will become a more regular occurrence as begin our exit from so we’d appreciate if you didn’t post the link anywhere. KG will DJ before/after.

3.25 | whaleness flow x vin

Join Sally Choi for 90 minutes of vinyasa with improvisational live music by vin. Bring a mat, cozy attire, and arrive fully to this transformational flow incorporating sound, movement, and breath, telepathically guided by our planet’s largest living air-breathing undersea guardians.

3.26 | dance practice: mindful movement w/ Selena Lee, Luwan, concon

It’s been so rewarding to watch a new community grow around this mid-week gathering of intentional dancers. Is it a micro-party? Exercise class? Meditation practice? The answer is emphatically yes. The evening will begin with a moving meditation with Selena Lee followed by an open floor with music programed by studio regular Luwan. concon will land the ship with a sound bath. You can do all this and still be in bed before midnight. Come celebrate a trip around the sun together, and practice your Dance! [KG]

3.27 | aslan x lafleur, kat offline, kfeelz will Present Sounds

Though single selector four hour Present Sounds sets are become more the norm these days, every once in a while it’s fun to throw a bunch of heads in the mix to see what happens. Kfeelz is leading the charge on this one and bringing along fellow Miss/Chief collective member Kat Offline. Rafa Aslan and LaFleur will be joining them for a collaborative live set. If you were around when Rafa last played Present Sounds with fieldtalk in August, you know to expect full use of the sonic range of the studio system. poster by Khloe Swanson. [KG]

3.31 | Community Acupuncture

You know the deal: Alison Roehs of Modern Tonic Acupuncture sets up for an evening of healing and relaxation, with ambient soundscapes and hot tea for the post-needle comedown. Or maybe you don’t, because you haven’t come through yet. Maybe this is finally the week?

-Z.B.