Building on a musical legacy
BEFORE DISCO, dancing in America was inseparable from the traditions of the dominant culture – heterosexual courtship, patriarchy, and matrimony. To dance, one needed a partner. But with the new forms coming out of the queer of color communities of Chicago and Detroit in the 1980s, dancing situated itself along a different axis – it became at once both a mode of entry into the group and a form of individual expression.
WHAT THESE COMMUNITIES EXPRESSED was often a unique blend of joy and melancholy, celebration and sorrow, both the pride and pain of living at the margins of society. The film’s soundtrack reflects this ambivalence at the heart of dance music culture. On one hand, it champions Marc’s resilience and individualism. On the other, it mourns the loss of community and underscores the fact that he can’t dance forever.
The artists below have generously provided musical contributions to the film.
John Barera
John Barera is a DJ, Producer & Label owner based in NYC. His sound is rooted in techno and house’s most classic iterations: sturdy, barreling grooves, shimmering pads, deep liquid dubs and the occasional acid burn. With his informed DJ style and insatiable appetite for new and old music of all kinds, Barera has forged a career that has taken him to some of the most iconic clubs and dance floors around the world.
Brian Abelson/ See Other
For the last twenty years, Brian Abelson has written, produced, and dj’d groove-oriented music, skipping playfully between disco, hip hop, house, garage rock, synth pop, and techno. His productions and collaborations have come out on labels like Beats in Space (Jennifer Vanilla), Lobster Theremin (See Other), Haus of Altr (Jean Glazier), and Sorry Records (w/ John Barera) and showcase his penchant for crafting textured, infectious rhythms. As a DJ, Brian flows fluidly between genres and makes heavy use of homemade edits, locked grooves, and drum machine improvisations.
Octo Octa
With a background in sound design and several years spent as a ‘fringe IDM’ artist, Maya Bouldry-Morrison first began releasing music as Octo Octa in 2011, on LA’s newly minted underground house label 100% Silk. Maya traverses between intimate all night DJ sets in her native NYC to performing her live show to thousands of revelers at Spain’s Sonar-by-Night, with stops along the way at the likes of Berlin's Panorama Bar, Frankfurt's Live At Robert Johnson, and London’s formidable Printworks.
Savateur
Sal Lombardo makes drum-forward techno and electro. With a background in folk music, Lombardo leaves the indelible stamp of song-craft on every one of his compositions. As a selector, he performs around Boston under the alias Savateur. He contributed original music for the film’s trailer.