L.I.E.S. NITE: Legowelt / Veronica Vasicka / L.Sangre / Ron Morelli / Traxx / Sweater on Polo

April 28, 2023

BASEMENT: Legowelt / Veronica Vasicka / L.Sangre
STUDIO: Ron Morelli / Traxx / Sweater on Polo

Ron Morelli’s L.I.E.S. takes over BASEMENT. Dutch producer Legowelt has one of the most unique and uncompromising discographies in electronic music. Emerging in the mid ‘90s as part a community of artists centered around Bunker Records, Legowelt was immediately set apart for his raw-yet-fluent approach, pushing synths to the front and drawing inspiration from early Chicago sounds as well as italo, electro and other strains of deviant, subcultural dance. His development since then has stayed true to these roots, though his art has stretched into countless formal iterations. A true artist, Legowelt brings his signature to everything he touches. When L.I.E.S. was first forming, Legowelt was already an icon for a generation of emergent producers eager to forge their own path in electronic music. It was a coup, then, to have him release one of the label’s first EPs alongside a roster of then-unknown US artists. Since then, both Legowelt and the artist have continued down twin paths of undiluted artistic exploration, remaining steadfast in their vision regardless of trends and hype. Longtime friend to the label Veronica Vasicka is the organizer behind Minimal Wave, another era-defining label for fans or vital, visceral underground sounds. Her sets bridge brutalist techno, coarse electro and cassette-ripped gems from the 80s. An artist and curator with ties to a multitude of micro-scenes and subcultures, Vasicka brings a highly personal vision of music history, and possible musical futures, to her sets. L.Sangre, the self-described “Baroness of Sludge & Eroticism” is a resident at Lost Soul Enterprises and one of the standout EBM/techno/hybrid DJs in NY. Over the ten years, she’s been holding it down, bringing industrial strength acidic beatdowns across the city.

Ron Morelli plays STUDIO. As label head of L.I.E.S., he’s consistently tapped into a teeming ecosystem of artists pursuing raw, daring and uninhibited modes of expression. His label curation has brought debuts and standout releases from artists as diverse as Terekke, Tzusing and Adam X. His own music drifts into distortion-caked, noise-addled industrial, and as a DJ he can maneuver from the grottiest corners to deep and heavy house with an unblinking no-fucks-given vision. Chicago’s Traxx is not a DJ. Instead, he uses the term “artist of sound” to describe his virtuosic, pan-genre explorations into music. The Nation records owner is one of the most gifted technicians working in America, a master of the vinyl blend whose sets are sculpted out of jack tracks, ‘80s rarities, avant garde works and so much more. Truly unique and inimitable, Traxx’s debut at the club will be an unmissable event. Sweater on Polo is a younger artist whose work takes up the mantle of the first L.I.E.S. signees. His music foregrounds the hardware, with a livewire, straight-out-the-box energy that cannot be denied. As both a live artist and DJ, he’s going in on a tight, Chicago-informed approach. But this is no retro trip; Sweater on Polo incorporates his influences and makes them his own.

■ 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