WIRE FESTIVAL returns to Knockdown Center for its second edition, May 19-20, 2023.
Reprising its core themes of community, conversation and world-class techno, the programming includes two nights of exceptional DJs, collaborations with the underground’s leading collectives, thought-provoking panel discussions and stunning art installations.
This year’s edition invites some of the most respected names in techno from across the globe, including pioneering DJ and producer Jeff Mills, who returns to the city for his first club set in almost a decade.
He’s joined by some of his esteemed peers as well as exemplary members of the younger generations. UK veteran Luke Slater, US stalwart DVS1.
In partnership with Resident Advisor, the festival will continue its practice of hosting talks that deal with some of the most serious issues facing our electronic music community.
On Friday, May 19, WIRE invites DVS1 to discuss Aslice, his new platform which distributes royalties to producers based on DJ plays. As digital music erodes royalties, recording artists face a growing economic crisis. In stark relief, DJs are able to command at times exorbitant fees. While much attention has been paid to how streaming platforms siphon income from artists, the relationship of producer and DJ are rarely questioned. DVS1 joins fellow artist Chloe Lula to challenge the current model and explore more equitable paths forward.
Berlin’s Marcel Dettmann all represent the highest echelons of techno, while European acts 999999999, CEM, MCMLXXXV, Salome and BASEMENT resident Newa are renowned for their bold approaches to the genre, bringing a fresh and fiery vision.
New York is also heavily represented: Akua, WTCHCRFT, KYRUH, Matas, Jek, Rose Kourts
and BASEMENT resident Lydo are definitive voices in the city’s recent electronic revitalization.
On Saturday, May 20 sees Knockdown Center director and WIRE co-director Tyler Myers lead a panel on the US artist visa. Unlike many of our international counterparts, the US places tight and expensive restrictions on foreign artists. This creates problems for US music scenes, cutting them off from larger global communities. Countless opportunities to build networks of support and develop relationships have been squandered because of the prohibitive cost of the artist visa. Myers is joined by Salome (Herrensauna), Joe Sigmund (Surefire agency), and Téa Abashidze (BASEMENT, WIRE FESTIVAL) in a discussion that hopes to offer advice and strategies to those artists we haven’t yet discovered.
These panels take place at Knockdown Center at 8PM each evening.
Finally, the more brazen D.Dan, DJ Saliva, SPFDJ, Schacke and Sugar complete the lineup.
These DJs have all found an international following as wildcards, each of them ruthlessly upending expectations as they continue WIRE FESTIVAL’s goal to connect and uplift the international underground, forging new bonds and providing the opportunity for mutual education alongside world-class raving.
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