Hello ravers,
It’s Mo aka DJ Gay Panic, and this(!) is The Deviant Dispatch. I’m posting from my corner of the NYC “underground” to bring you subcultural musings, scene updates, and queer shit. There will be typos.
This time I have something different for you1: a collaborative audio visual mix between myself, DJ Gay Panic, and DJ Accident Report. I’m putting it out just in time for Beltane and the Scorpio full moon tonight in hopes that it will soundtrack some revelry. Put it on at your next pregame, as you walk around, or wherever/whenever you’d like! Just scroll back up and hit the play button.
I recorded the DJ mix, and DJ Accident Report created the visual montage. It’s full of club kids, horror movie clips, surrealist ballet, anime fight scenes, demonic strippers, and clips from a Kirby video game. I originally wanted to put it on Youtube but DJ Accident Report told me I would probably get flagged for copyright infringement. Here’s hoping Substack is a little more permissive! For those who don’t wanna go to the trouble of downloading the Substack app (understandable) I uploaded the mix to Soundcloud also.
The mix is largely songs I played at a Bossa Nova happy hour gig. I wanted to impress the BK techno institution but still play a set that sounds like “me” and so leaning into electroclash was the natural fit. It’s the pop-leaning music the serious dance floor djs seem to respect. Everyone likes Miss Kittin !
Sometimes when talking to seasoned ravers I wonder when everything got so serious. What’s wrong with a set full of words? What’s with calling every song with a verse and chorus “pop music,” regardless if it ever charted on Billboard? I like dance music and underground shit but I don’t think it has to be so uptight.
Whatever Happened to Fun?
So that’s what I’m calling this mix. There are some darker political-tinged moments on it that speak to the general post-Trump malaise, but mostly I was thinking about this quote from Sex and the City:
This mix is fun, chaotic, and a bit dark just like this diva!
When asked DJ Accident Report if there’s anything he wanted to say about the visuals, he sent back these two paragraphs:
“So the dj set was very electroclash, which meant bright colors but weirdly banal, deadpan, club kid vibes. so theres a mix of super flat hypercolor and really slow moving and tedious imagery, but all very strange and surreal. ive been using a lot of footage from fan-made compilations, which themselves are like little art films, like purowave and sakuga mad mixed in with videos of fan recaps and countdowns (with the talking heads cut out) so there’s a sort of post-modern aspect to it, a compilation of a compilation of a compilation
my favorite part of going to raves is when theres a visual element, the strange videos of space aliens, anime clips, abstract visualizers or whatever because it really set the mood and tone of the scene. its what i remember after the party the most. my favorite party ever from back in the day used to have looping videos of sims and bratz dolls. ive had a lot of fun putting together visuals for nobodies parties like fight club and mx nobody, i like riffing on a theme with eye-catching, esoteric movie clips. its like dropping an obscure sample into a song during a dj set, and you know who the real ones are if they can catch the reference.”
I hope you enjoy this mix! Leave a comment if you clock one of DJ Accident Report’s references or you want a track ID.
XOXO,
Mo
I know this newsletter is mostly about words and I promise I’ll get back to writing soon.
