OSCURA SHOW REVIEW

This past weekend, open platform multi-media collective Magnetic Rose hosted the otherworldly Oscura, a night of alchemy that reminded us just how special, invigorating, and liberating clubbing can be. Composed of DJs Lady Witch, Lo Dazz, and Hardin, the DIY collective made good on delivering a lovingly curated local lineup alongside special out-of-town guests, the Nashville crate-digging DJ Lapilli and the punk, acid-techno outfit Pelada on their final tour. The party also marked a milestone for the collective, taking over (and filling to the brim) the staple big league club Marble Bar for the evening. The totally packed venue was a testament to any number of things, but perhaps most poignantly the power of community, as we saw the entire local techno-loving scene showing up and out for the big night.  

Read on as we recap one of the best parties of the Summer. 

poster by Naomi Ning

If you weren't at Marble Bar from the moment doors opened, you messed up. Though it's customary to arrive at the club at increasingly, fashionably late hours, this lineup was so stacked that there was no point in wasting the hours away pregaming to whatever your friends were throwing on aux. From the jump, two incredible talents were on simultaneously: DJ Sphinx and Lapilli. 

Kicking things off in the main room, DJ Sphinx-- coming off of a triumphant run of Summer sets-- delivered a masterclass in acid-washed, dubby techno. Building to a brilliant crescendo of force and form, their set achieved a hallucinatory sound that would surely earn admiration from a master of the dub pocket like Moritz Von Oswald. Her psychedelic, storytelling mix raised the bar dangerously high for the night ahead and solidified her status as, perhaps, the best DJ in the city (in this reviewer's humble opinion).

On the patio, the Tennessee-based selector Lapilli began the night by setting things ablaze with an equally enjoyable uptempo set. Wasting no time, dancers broke into convulsive moves as she threw down a brilliant mix of tunes that had us feeling amped for all the rest that was in store. In essence, both of these opening sets were not ones to miss. 

Meanwhile, inside, Sphinx swapped out for Magnetic Rose's very own Lo Dazz, who brought out a kicking set of synth-heavy, electro-tinged bangers. Later in the evening, Lo was joined by Psy-Chick for a back-to-back set that shifted the party into overdrive, coalescing as the club raced closer to peak hours.  The duo continued to raise the vibration of the blood-red, or perhaps rose-red, lit room as partiers dawning gothic, vampiric fits gleefully bounced back and forth between the two stages of premiere selections.

Back through Marble's thin corridor, out under the serious moonlight, dancers swayed to the eclectic, always-engaging tunes picked by local luminary Tammy Lakkis. This evening, Lakkis was in peak form, delivering one of her best sets of the Summer (if you're getting the sense that everyone brought their A-game for Oscura, you would be right in spades). At this point, the Magnetic Rose crew had already outdone almost any other party in the past month, and the main event had yet to begin.

In our interview with Magnetic Rose back in May, they mentioned that part of their vision is to bring in talent from outside the city, but acknowledged that "it's a really big task to bring any artist from outside of Detroit because it's costly." We were also told after the interview was done rolling, that if there was one artist they'd like to bring in, it'd be Pelada, but their time was running out to make it happen because the Montreal-based duo had work visas about to expire. Considering these financial and time-sensitive challenges, it's all the more miraculous that the crew pulled it off. In a city where parties seem to just happen, where the industry's imperatives of capital and bureaucracy are obfuscated, it is worth recalling that Magnetic Rose did this from their own pockets, for the sake of quality music and fostering community. 

With that being said, let me now pivot and ask-- have you ever seen a mosh pit in Marble Bar? Because we hadn't, not until last Saturday night. Pelada is Chris Vargas and Tobias Rochman, a hardware techno duo that blurs the lines between industrial, proper 909 acid, and punk rock. With the entire club filled, the underground act transcended to heroic heights, capping off a long career with a show that reflected their influence and radical, unapologetically anti-capitalist energy. Motormouth founder Weona Ryder described it as "a core memory and religious experience." And that's an apt way of articulating what this show meant for folks who saw themselves reflected back in Vargas' revolutionary spirit. 

Weona Ryder recollected their impressions in vivid detail, stating that:

I was instantly hypnotized by a low-frequency rumbling, building anticipation all over my body… the back of my neck, down my spine, around my stomach, literally in my pussy. Yes, you read that correctly, I had goosebumps IN MY PUSSY. What followed was truly a straight shock to my nervous system for 60 consecutive minutes. I felt like I had an IV catheter running ecstasy through my veins, completely obliterating and heightening my senses at the same time. I’ve never seen that kind of energy at Marble or, for that matter, any club. Pelada's debut & final performance was a bittersweet whiplash, unapologetic shrieking, and cathartic chaos. for once in my life, I saw someone who looked like me, talked like me, believed in the same things as me, screaming and jumping on stage without an ounce of restriction, hesitation, or compromise.

Sweat dripped from the ceiling and the tactile beats made our hair stand up. From the magic of seeing Rochman create the tracks live, in real-time, to Vargas standing atop the speakers like a possessed preacher (is it worth noting here that Weona Ryder also described Pelada's set as a baptism?) while a push-pit erupted below, it was a glorious scene. 

Ending the night, Auntie Chanel breathed new life onto the decks with a pulverizing mix of heavy, pumping techno that soothed the souls of those partiers, myself included, who were there until the final beat stopped. It was a perfect way to conclude the show. 

And, if you were paying attention, you'd notice that the entire lineup, across the night, was composed of femme talent. That was intentional. As Lo told us in our interview, "We've faced a lot of sexism. It feels like a lot more work for us to get to places- have resources at our disposal. [...] We want to uplift anyone we feel has had a more difficult time breaking into the music scene." Oscura was the Magnetic Rose crew following through on this mission, curating a lineup of DJs deserving of that spotlight. 

The next morning, after the dance, I went into the room of our house where Weona Ryder and I keep our records. As I strolled in there, the B-side of Pelada's Ahora mas que nunca, purchased the night before, was spinning to a close. 

"Oh, nice, you got a copy of their record. What do you want to play next?" I asked. 

Their answer echoed what I wished I could do for Oscura: 

"Flip it over and start it again," they beamed.