- In its first iteration during the summer of 2008, the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival was an earnest attempt to showcase local bands and DJs like Purple Crush, Treasure Fingers and Cobra Krames. Held over the course of a single day at the now defunct BKLYN Yard, a tree lined outdoor space on the banks of the grimy-yet-charming Gowanus Canal, it achieved its noble aim of bringing together fans of all things synth related for a sun-soaked day of tunes.
Last year, the fest was held at the Old American Can Factory, an industrial space built in the late 1800s that has been converted into artists' studios, also near the Gowanus. Featuring headliners The Juan Maclean, Designer Drugs and Shy Child, it maintained the down-to-earth vibe espoused by its organizers from the start, but also showed the potential to morph into something to be taken more seriously, the punk-y little sister to Electric Zoo, a more glitzed-out affair which brings a slew of Europe's top DJs to NYC each summer.
This year, BEMF boasted performances by an impressive crop of international and local artists including Sinden, Kid Sister, Azari & IIII, Falty DL and Kingdom. What it gained with this lineup, it lost in small-scale charm by switching to a more established pair of venues, Music Hall of Williamsburg and Public Assembly, located on the same block of Williamsburg's North 6th street.
The main question on many attendees' minds was precisely this two-venue, three-stage setup: would it erupt into a giant clusterfuck of frigid outdoor lines, overcrowded bars and coat check nightmares on this, the fest's first ever winter showing?
On the contrary, the front room at Public Assembly was piping hot during Javelin's set (especially for the people standing directly beneath the heater, or the couple furiously making out alongside the bar). Playing mainly summer jams from their debut LP No Mas, the Brooklyn-by-way-of Providence duo got the crowd happily bouncing despite spotty sound, ad-libbing vocals from Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" and Blondie's "Heart of Glass."
The darker back room was where the real hi-fi fiends were, checking out a DJ set by San Francisco-based beatsmith oOoOO. Donning a fitted cap, he displayed tons of swagger yet hardly moved a muscle while cueing up the sort of screwed down tracks that got him lumped in with witch house (or, drag if you prefer) in the first place. Up next was Brooklyn local FaltyDL, whose masterful selections swung heavily to the UK side—"When I Dip" by Boddika, The Bug's "Poison Dart," vintage garage, with K.P. & Envyi's "Shorty Swing My Way" thrown in for good measure.
In the slightly less crowded front room, Azari & III were bringing it with their futuristic take on retro sounds all the way from Toronto. Frontmen Fritz Helder and SYF worked the stage, voguing in leather outfits accented by a giant furry hat and Naomi Campbell-style tresses, respectively. Meanwhile, D.C.'s Tittsworth was throwing down a storming set of bass-fueled tracks in the back room, two towers of colored lights illuminated behind him. A crowd of younger looking kids wearing finger lights waved their hands in front of each others' faces, hearkening back to raves of yore; they were soon infiltrated by a pack of fist-pumping dudes in flannel.
Over at Music Hall of Williamsburg, bass shook the bathroom stalls downstairs as Sinden took to the decks later than expected, playing tunes like Roska's "Squark" to a rapidly dwindling crowd. Like most venues in New York, MHOW closes down at 4 AM. At around 3, people were starting to fade and disappear—another reason why nontraditional venues have served BEMF so well in the past.
Back in PA's back room, Star Eyes from the local Trouble & Bass crew played a remix of Dead Prez's "It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop," joined onstage by a friendly entourage. This crowd was almost the same size as the small-yet-devoted dancefloor dwellers getting down to the tune, reminding us all that this festival is, primarily, all about Brooklyn love.