Wrecked and The Bunker Present: Midland, Leafar Legov, ATEQ, Servito, Jasen Loveland at Good Room
Wrecked and The Bunker Present: Midland, Leafar Legov, ATEQ, Servito, Jasen Loveland at Good Room 98 Meserole Avenue 21+, 10p-5a
$10 - $20
Since he first surfaced in 2010, Harry Agius has been a chameleonic talent, a producer of surreal club cuts as well as modern pop songs, a house DJ always flirting with techno, disco and the sounds of his native UK. He presents himself with understated flair: his name, Midland, is a dry nod to his time living on Midland road as a student in Leeds (though he grew up in Tanzania and now resides in London), and his MySpace once said his goal was to "create a homogeneous sound that people from different musical persuasions can appreciate." What he actually does, though, is far more radical than that. In his productions, his DJ sets and his record labels, Midland's sound is as unassuming as it is surprising, at once subtle, refined and totally raucous.
Midland's production style has nimbly evolved from one record to the next. "Your Words Matter," his early collaboration with Pearson Sound (then Ramadanman), set the tone for his long-lasting friendship with Aus Music: slick, stripped-back, garage-flavored house, something that also characterised the excellent Bring Joy on More Music. Soon, though, Agius flipped the script, joining forces with Pariah for a scuffed-up techno EP that formed part of the Sheworks series on Work The Long Nights. This dark turn continued with what may have been his breakthrough track: 2013's "Trace," a warped after-hours tune that seemed to emanate from the deepest corners of the subconscious. Soon after Agius launched his own label, Graded, with the double A side of "Archive 01" and "Realtime", two tracks that soundtracked numerous dance floors that year, this was soon followed by "Drumtrak," a wonderfully delirious creeper of a DJ tool. In 2015, he wove bongos and soaring strings into his palette with the Double Feature EP, a pair of warm and disco-flavoured house bombs on his newly launched ReGraded imprint, also home to one of the stealthiest hits of the year, Hubie Davison's “Sanctified". Meanwhile, he debuted AKASE, an electronic pop project with Robert Redway, engineered by Ewan Pearson and signed to Berlin institution !K7.
There were plenty of one-offs along the way, including remixes for artists from Mano Le Tough to Darkstar on Warp Records as well as "Before We Leave” for Phonica’s white label series and contributions to JD Twitch of Optimo's Autonomous Africa label (the proceeds from which to go Mtandika Mission, a charity that Agius parents run in Tanzania).
For all of these efforts, Agius has received a steady stream of accolades, but it's possible he's made his biggest impact with the other side of his craft: DJing. Delivering his kaleidoscopic taste with mixing technique that nods as much to his UK lineage as it does a smoother European style, Midland has set himself apart with sets as classy as they are utterly party rocking. Late at night and early in the morning, aboard boat parties on the Adriatic or on the carpeted dance floor at Freerotation, via regular slots at clubs like Berlin's Panorama Bar, Amsterdam's now legendary Trouw and London’s Fabric, he's given countless unforgettable moments to innumerable people around the world. His entries in to mix series' from Resident Advisor to Beats in Space and Dekmantel have become slow burning classics, and in 2015, he took it up a notch with his All Night Long parties, a series of events where he manned the decks from open to close, charting a vast course from ambient, soul and world music through to storming (but always elegant) club music. It's the fullest demonstration yet of his wide ranging talents, and a tantalising sign of what's still to come.
SOUNDCLOUDATEQ is a member of the Giegling collective, which means we don't really no much about how outside of his amazing releases and DJ sets. this is his first time in the USA since 2013.
SOUNDCLOUDLeafar Legov is one half of Giegling duo Kettenkarussell alongside Konstantin. His debut solo EP was released on Giegling earlier this year. Tonight marks his third appearance at The Bunker.
SOUNDCLOUDAfter turning in an amazing edition of The Bunker Podcast and appearing on RBMA Radio show in Los Angeles, we decided it was time to bring Jasen Loveland out of the shadows for his first gig in NYC. This dude wont stay in the shadows for long, with upcoming high quality releases on Acid Camp, Beyond The Speaker, and Interdimensional Transmissions.
SOUNDCLOUDMike Servito is from a very special yet temporary and partially lost fertile crescent of techno / house / party DJing. It was a time when raves were still a fresh idea, almost felt like a revolution, and DJs like Claude Young, D Wynn, Derrick Carter and Mike Huckaby were informing an upcoming generation. If you look directly to that inspired generation you will find the lost threads of Detroit Techno, House and beyond, you will find a group of DJs with insanely deep mixing skills, the ability to rock almost any kind of party with an improvisational approach that is so skilled it makes everything seem so well thought out that even they don't know where their set will go. But, it will take you there! In the future, this special generation of deep midwest mixers will be remembered and revered as the wizards they are, long after the trendy players have lost their luster.
Detroit never forgot about Mike Servito, his upfront dirty deep and bitchy taste has had an impact on Detroit nightlife for over a decade. From debuting in 1995 at Dat's Poorboy parties, to being a resident at blackbx and Ghostly's Untitled (along with Derek Plaslaiko, Tadd Mullinix, Matthew Dear, and Ryan Elliott), contributing to the bizarrely popular, wild and free Dorkwave, and progressing that concept into Sass (the hippest queer party in Detroit at the time), to blowing minds at Interdimensional Transmissions' No Way Back parties, Servito has made his impression. Moving to Brooklyn, Detroit's loss has been their gain, as he has found a proper home with a residency at The Bunker, and representation by Beyond Booking in North America and Odd Fantastic in Europe.
MIKE SERVITO SOUNDCLOUD MIKE SERVITO LIVE AT NO WAY BACK DETROIT 2018 MIX MIKE SERVITO APPLE MUSIC PRIDE MIX, 2021 INSTAGRAM VIDEO OF MIKE SERVITO LIVE AT PARAGON: 4/20/2024While shopping for vinyl at a record store in 2008, Ryan Smith met Ron Like Hell, a veteran DJ of 19 years. Both excited to meet another like-minded gay individual appreciative of timeless music, they were inspired to work on a project together. They really came into their own when they launched Wrecked as a monthly doors open at midnight party at National Underground, which was an immediate success. They've made it their mission to book solid underground talent to express the changing tides in the gay underground. Their sound has taken them to the dance floors of Berlin to San Francisco and The Black Party to 718 Sessions.
On his own, Ryan works as an agent at the Liason Agency. For the past few of years, Wrecked has become a regular part of the lineups at The Bunker, shining bright as both openers and in prime time slots.
Tonight Ryan joins us for a solo DJ set.
For the past 12 years, The Bunker New York has led the way for American techno by bringing together hundreds of artists from all over the world. More than a mere techno party, The Bunker unites diverse sounds from across the electronic music spectrum, connecting the dots between house, techno, experimental sounds, and much more. The Bunker New York began as a party, grew up into a record label, and has become a collaborative community, fostered by founder and curator Bryan Kasenic since its launch in 2003.
Kasenic's roots in the world of music go deep. In 1993, at the age of 16, he began DJing on Carnegie Mellon’s WRCT in Pittsburgh. He went on to launch his own radio show on WNYU in 1997. The radio show, and his interest in the many weird corners of the NYC music scene, eventually morphed into the creation of a weekly email newsletter, which included noteworthy party and event listings at a time when nothing of the kind existed online. As Bryan became more established in New York City, he created Beyond Booking, the agency that would become a core part of The Bunker New York. During this time, Bryan was also a sought-after DJ, performing at parties and events on a weekly basis. Currently, Bryan also hosts a weekly show on Red Bull Music Academy Radio, featuring The Bunker's friends and family.
Bryan is much more than a mainstay at The Bunker New York. He has also played in many of the finest clubs and venues around the world: Berghain, Panorama Bar, and Atonal Festival in Berlin; Output, Verboten, and MoMA PS1's Warm Up series in New York; Air Tokyo and Circus Osaka in Japan; Smart Bar in Chicago; the Communikey and Decibel festivals in Boulder and Seattle respectively; Public Works in San Francisco; and many more. Additionally, he has co-produced numerous events and festivals, including several years at Unsound Festival New York. Unsound is one of the leading electronic and experimental music festivals worldwide, and he subsequently brought The Bunker to Krakow, Poland, Unsound's native city.
To understand Kasenic as a DJ one needs only look back at his decades of passion promoting electronic and experimental sounds in New York, and towards the sound of the artists that have become key members of The Bunker New York family: the psychedelic, cerebral bent of Atom™, Voices From The Lake, and Reagenz; the swirling, atmospheric soundscapes of Clay Wilson, Zemi17, and Marco Shuttle; and the industrial-strength hardware dynamics of Løt.te, Mark Verbos, and Romans. 12 years after its founding, The Bunker is stronger than it has ever been and continues to grow, thanks to Kasenic's vision and effort.
SOUNDCLOUD SETS AND INTERVIEWS RESIDENT ADVISOR RA ORAL HISTORY OF THE BUNKER FEATURE (2013) THUMP: THE BUNKER IS THE GODFATHER OF WEIRD TECHNO PARTIES FEATURE (2014) SELF-TITLED FEATURE, OCT 2014For our first event together since Pride, The Bunker and Wrecked couldn't be more excited to bring London's Midland, whose surreal club cuts have been getting heavy rotation in our DJ sets for a while now. Wrecked Resident Ryan Smith and The Bunker's Mike Servito will be wrecking shop in Good Room as well.
We'll keep it super heady in the Bad Room with headlining sets from Geigling artists Leafar Legov and ATEQ, Jasen Loveland's debut at The Bunker, and Bryan Kasenic's last set before heading to Europe to play Berghain and Unsound festival.
Sound reinforced by Tsunami Bass Sound System
The Bunker Drip membership and RSVP: https://drip.kickstarter.com/thebunkerny/posts/4519