DWELLER: Terrence Dixon / Max Watts / Juana / Fred P / DJ Etta

February 25, 2023

For its fourth edition, NY’s essential DWELLER festival invites Terrence Dixon to BASEMENT. The Detroit artist is a true techno innovator and an artist of startling uniqueness. His taut, cerebral productions bring a bracing urgency and mercurial materiality to techno. Like Robert Hood and Jeff Mills, Dixon often works with reduction and rawness: his tracks can feel both entrancing and nervy, emotive and opaque, like Möbius strips twisting in the air. His releases on labels as seminal as Metroplex, Tresor, Delsin and Rush Hour are consistently refreshing; Dixon is a rare artist who can make a simple synth and drum pattern feel like an elusive riddle and a piece of fine art. Fellow Michigan resident Max Watts is the owner of the Limited Network label, a home for ruthlessly ruff techno. Watts’ most recent release on the label catches him in an extra-gritty mood: the three untitled tracks pay homage to the severe arrangements of Detroit pioneers while adding his own signature. Washington DC’s Juana completes the BASEMENT lineup, returning for the first time since last summer’s standout b2b with Vovox. A hard-hitting DJ, Juana can move effortlessly between deadly techno and soaring, tripped out sounds with a sneering edge.

Fred P is one of the great names in Black house music, period. Few artists have committed themselves so completely to “deep house,” bringing a level of craft, soulful catharsis and, yes, meditative depth to his productions. An artist with an unmistakable signature, Fred P’s tracks undulate and mesmerize with an aqueous infinity, embodying the transportive, transformative power of the genre. Discussing his music, he directly addresses the spiritual nature of sound: “Like-minds together, to raise each other's consciousness… I know music can be medicine. Meditation... It's a gift for everybody. It's all about the time you're given and the quality of what you decide to do with that time.” If that sounds cryptic, there’s nothing forbidding about his discography. Whether under his own name or as Black Jazz Consortium, Fred P’s music is consistently some of the most sublime and truly beautiful house music ever made. DJ Etta’s sets take a similar approach, basking in unabashed joyfulness untethered to genre. Her selections range from naughty boogie disco to enveloping house to classic, golden era hip-hop, mixed with a cohesive grace and effortless musicality.

■ No photos or videos
■ No phone use on the dancefloor
■ The dance floor is for dancing, not conversation
■ No glowing/flashing clothes or items
■ Respect other people's space, no shuffling
■ Consent is mandatory
■ Zero tolerance for racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism or any form of discrimination
■ Take care of each other, alert our staff if somebody isn't feeling well
■ Violating the house rules will result in removal
■ Ticket purchase does not guarantee entrance