- One of New York's best DJs pays tribute to Nowadays.
- As part of our ongoing celebration of 21 years of club culture, we're featuring some of our favourite DJs from around the world, highlighting the parties and clubs most important to their lives in dance music. Stepping up to the plate is DJ Voices, who will be playing our RA2122 party in New York this Saturday, November 19th.
Kristin Malossi, AKA DJ Voices, is a prime example of an artist who can do it all. Originally from Florida, she's been an integral part of New York's electronic music landscape as a DJ and booker at one of the city's best venues, Nowadays. Malossi got her footing as a selector and founding member of the DJ collective Working Women but these days, she performs solo through her Nowadays residency and her radio show on The Lot, Nothing In Moderation. Her sets are known for their psychedelic dynamism. Her selections, which prioritise "energy and drama over genre," often flit from rolling low-end, uptempo tracks (that she then slows all the way down) to wonky, leftfield beats.
"It would be hard to overstate how much Nowadays is part of my story at this point, personally and professionally," Malossi told RA in the following interview. Her approach to assembling this mix makes that abundantly clear. Sprawling out over almost three hours, this set features tracks that she has either played during her five-year tenure at Nowadays or that she plans to play in the future. She organised tracks in a similar way to her Nowadays sets. She kicks off with fast and nimble bass music ("I like to start fast in hopes of people dancing half-time") then transitions into a knotty web of dubstep and bright, percussive cuts before closing with weightless jungle. The playlist she sourced from to create this mix featured music from every Nowadays resident. It's this degree of thoughtfulness and meticulous attention to detail that's made her a household name in her community.
What was your first experience or memory of Nowadays?
My very first memory is stepping into the indoor space while it was still under construction. The outdoors had already been open for a bit by that time, this was summer 2017. My earliest memory of it as a club would probably be the first Avalon Emerson all-nighter or the first time I played there, with Working Women and K-Hand.
But my most formative early days memory would have to be Theo Parrish into D. Tiffany, New Year's 2018. It was one amazing set into another with a complete sonic vibe switch and a merging of one group of people that had just arrived with another group of people that had been there all night. That moment launched everyone into such a silly, loose mood that DJ Python led a conga line around the room as the sun poured in through the windows. That was the beginning of Nowadays feeling like my living room, feeling like home.
What role has the club played in your history as a DJ?
It would be hard to overstate how much Nowadays is part of my story at this point, personally and professionally. It's my day job so I spend so much of my time thinking about it and being there. And as a DJ, it's where I found my DJ voice (apologies for the pun). I've been a resident since the indoor space opened in 2017, initially through my work with the collective Working Women, and then post-lockdown reopening on my own. I've heard my favourite DJs play my favourite sets there, and I've been lucky enough to play there more times than I can count now.
The crowd is always evolving, but the ethos of the space and network of people that make up our core audience give me confidence and comfort in the booth unlike anywhere else. This is largely thanks to a general mood of open-mindedness plus a contagious enthusiasm for music and experiencing it together. A sense of adventure and risk-taking are really important parts of my DJ practice and relationship to music, and I rarely feel afraid to clear the floor at Nowadays. And even if I do, Nowadays is such a comfortable space with so many different places to go or sit down, it makes me less afraid of people leaving. I feel a bit spoiled to be honest!
Lastly, being connected to a space and thinking about, for lack of a better word, the community that surrounds it has given me a sense of responsibility that was maybe lacking in any meaningful way in my life before. I feel very privileged to have this relationship to Nowadays and its made me want to be accountable to my peers and neighbors as an artist, to think of actions beyond the limits of my performance and consider my role in things like building a sustainable future for dance music in NYC, our impact on the neighborhoods most of us frequent at night, or sharing access and knowledge as much as I can.
What, to you, sets Nowadays apart from other clubs, or makes it unique?
I suppose I've started to touch on this in my previous answer, but there are a few more things that come to mind. First, back to what I was saying about Nowadays being a comfortable space—I mean that literally, like it's a lot easier for your body to endure the night in a space that has a big outdoor space, plenty of places to sit on and off the dancefloor, and free, easily accessible water. Those are big things I notice sometimes lacking when I go to other clubs. I don't drink alcohol anymore and I take lots of breaks from the dancefloor throughout the night, and those are big things I notice sometimes lacking when I go to other clubs. It really makes the whole night so much more enjoyable when you can leave the party without actually leaving the party.
Our staff is incredibly special, each and every one of them. They're also the main reason why we're able to attempt (and hopefully achieve) Nowadays being a comfortable space on a deeper and more meaningful level for people, and they're super committed to constantly fine-tuning our policies and practices related to being a safer space. I also have a lot of admiration for the owners, Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin, who have such a rich history of dancing in NYC. I've learned so much about parties, and life, from them.
We're also in the unique position for NYC of being able to throw 24-hour parties, which we do once a month. I love waking up early on a Sunday and heading to the club, witnessing the aforementioned merging of different crowds (the late nighters, early risers, marathoners, etc). There's something really beautiful about being able to see the faces of people you're sharing the dancefloor with as well. Something quite wholesome about it. I brought my mom before, she loved it.
How and where was the mix recorded, and how does it pay tribute to Nowadays?
I recorded this one at home on 3 XDJs and a Xone 92 mixer. It's a party mix for an audience primarily listening to it not at the club, so I try to have the pacing match more of a home listening setting rather than a club setting. It includes music that I've played at Nowadays or hope to play there soon, so I'd say the structure is pretty reflective of how I typically play at Nowadays:
- Freaky, faster tempo opening. I like to start fast in hopes of people dancing half-time... like stretching before a long run. Warming up is crucial in both scenarios!.
- Midtempo club business (energy and drama over genre)
- Deep, emotional closing, "landing the spaceship gently," as my friend Akanbi would say.
Of course, there's no one formula for DJing and I'm lucky to have played Nowadays enough times that I've done this and the opposing strategies countless times, but these tend to be my preferences. But there's one more important way this mix pays tribute to Nowadays, and that has more to do with the process than the final result. My Rekordbox playlist for this mix included music from every resident at Nowadays. Obviously not every one of those tracks made it in, but I made a lot of choices in an attempt to include each of them, they leave their trace in the way this mix takes shape with and without them. So shout out to those residents real quick: Physical Therapy, Anthony Naples, Aurora Halal, Ayesha, Bearcat, Beta Librae, Donis, Eamon Harkin, JADALAREIGN, Justin Carter, JT Almon & Michael Magnan, Musclecars, precolumbian, DJ Python, SHYBOI and Umfang.
What are you up to next?
Most immediately, prepping for a few exciting gigs including the RA birthday party, Nowadays Nonstop with D. Tiffany and others, plus Montreal with dear friend and frequent collaborator Akanbi.
After that, I'm making every attempt to keep December extremely chill and then once January hits it's back to my Nowadays residency, playing one of my favourite parties in the city in February and traveling for a few gigs.
As part of RA2122, we're also publishing a book of essays and letters, as well as hosting events in New York and Manchester.
TracklistJaskin & Uneven - Jitter
Glaskin - Hydrogroove 1
Handra - Goat Dance
IsGwan - Bleng
Errortica - Welcome to the Family (feat. Neverpais)
Awo Ojiji - Ridicoloum
Jotel California - Owl Hood
Mike Parker - Make It Up
Guber - Wrong Ibiza (Ploy Remix)
ILL_K - Glitch War
Elpac - Baziak
Naco - Mozu
Design Default - Draconids
Sputnik One - Calvepen 666
Midnight Runner - Love If
dgoHn - Invisible Sandwich
Elise Massoni - Silk
JADALAREIGN - 2B2S
Vikatory - In A Space
Asphalt DJ & Gzardin - Now and Zen
Mezla & Rowland - Supersonic
D.R.F. pills - PILL A
Ape Regime - Midday Cowboy (Taelorsmyth bass version)
zygos. - Kamikaze
Warlock - Full Tilt
SPD & Griz-O - Night Steppa
Simisea - Simi See, Simi Do
Polygonia - Geronticus Eremita
Mincy - Jiffy
Salem Hilal - Poor Intuition
Vincent Keep - Aberration
Umfang - Wingless Victory
Protect Ryan- Habitual Steppa
Unknown - Unknown
DJ Doom - Timekeeper
eliphino - NSPG
Jon Buccieri - Breaking Free (Jon SG Mix)
Jiego - Brock Groove
Vod Kasat - Mavi Maskara
Rhythm Invention - Chronoclasm
Be Bennet - Ground Down
Jon Jones - Gateway (Sunrise Mix)
Beta Librae and James K - Late At Night (Extended)
Töki - 3 Head
NY Graffiti - Spiral Horizon
Leviticus - The Burial (Rumor Control Speed Garage Bootleg)
Leviticus - Burial (Madamoselle Mix)
Pura Pura - Osmo (Cardozo Edit)
Limoux - Imani (L Major Remix)
Drummotive - Ensnared
Apulati bien - Dmarol