Outer Heaven Records 001 Release Party

Who they are

• 

  Justin Strauss

  New York City · 125 bookings since Aug 2023

  “Bio Few DJs could adequately represent the last three decades of New York nightclub history - no less do so with such iconic credentials as Justin Strauss.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Bio Few DJs could adequately represent the last three decades of New York nightclub history - no less do so with such iconic credentials as Justin Strauss. Since he was 17, when his first band was signed to Island Records, Justin has had a career that reads like a Who’s-Who of the music scene, spinning at nearly every dance club that you’d ever want to go to. Starting as DJ at New York’s legendary Mudd Club, he spun his way through The Ritz, Limelight, Area, Tunnel, M.K., Life, Centro Fly and more, pioneering his own distinctive sound, and becoming one of the most sought-after remixers and producers not just in New York, but in the world. He has worked with the gamut of artists - Depeche Mode, Sergio Mendez, Tina Turner, Jimmy Cliff, B-52s, Luther Vandross, Malcolm McClaren, Skinny Puppy, Goldfrapp, to name a few (see full list) – and on over 200 records! Much of the new dance crowd that goes to hear Justin DJ today, whether at subMercer, The Standard, Highbar, Soho House, or Love, doesn’t necessarily know his history; they simply love his spinning because he always keeps them dancing and surprised, seamlessly mixing between choice classics, delectable rarities and innovative beats. For Justin, no genre or style is off-limits – he can and will mix anything, so long as he can keep the crowd enthralled. His self-proclaimed mission is “connecting the dots” between what might otherwise seem disparate musical periods and styles, while introducing exciting new sounds. He does so with infectious passion, subverting preconceptions about what’s old and new, and inspiring young DJs with his masterful skill and ever-youthful spirit. But Justin Strauss doesn’t stop there. As half of the production duo, Whatever/Whatever, he continues to produce and mix records, working on remixes for the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Beyonce, La Roux and more. In fact, he doesn’t stop at all. Like the amazing city he’s dedicatedly kept dancing since 1980, Justin just keeps going. Coming Soon. a/jus/ted . New project with Eddie Mars. 2013
  SoundCloud ↗Discography ↗
  Synth-pop on 46, Pop Rock on 21, House on 34 and Disco on 13. styles on their catalogued releases

  Released on DFA (1) and Demon Records (1); their RA profile also lists Southern Fried Records, Under the Shade, Dither Down, Plant Music and 3 more. labels on their catalogued releases and on their RA profile

  Recently at Le Bain, House of Yes, Gabriela · often with Seth Magoon, Mike Guimond, Amelia Holt, none of them here that night

• 

  Tim Sweeney

  New York City · 12 bookings since Dec 2023 · Kein Klub melodic house

  “We're at the point where any music you want can come out of any THING you want, at any time of the day, at any price you're willing to entertain.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  We're at the point where any music you want can come out of any THING you want, at any time of the day, at any price you're willing to entertain. It’s beyond overwhelming — which is to say off the bat: There's something just nice about a good old-fashioned FM radio show like Beats In Space. Every Tuesday night at 10:30pm, anybody within radius of WNYU's transmitter can tune into 89.1 FM for this dance music show hosted by the DJ Tim Sweeney. Tim has had the show since he was a college student—so 15 years now. And while he'd bristle at the idea of himself being a "renowned DJ" (he is) or even an "in-demand DJ" (ditto), I'll say that if you love dance music, few things are better than Tim’s show. You can also listen online afterwards. But especially when I listen live, it feels a lot like eavesdropping. Special guests drop in to play records (Prosumer, Seth Troxler), regulars swing by and heckle (Juan Maclean, Doug Lee), and at least one recurring caller, a temperamental man named Victor from Washington Heights, weighs in with praise and less-than-praise. This is as close as you can get to a clubhouse — the sound and soundtrack of friends playing new songs for each other, talking about music, razzing each other for things you can't quite understand. It’s easy, for me at least, to see why Tim became the center of all this. I and other music people are drawn to his quiet enthusiasm, his devotion to craft, his sense of New York history. He’s had good mentors too. Tim interned with the legendary Steve Stein — Steinski — who legendarily would take a whole week to prep a single two-hour radio mix. Tim also interned at DFA Records under James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy, right when things were getting good. (Trivia: You can hear Tim play sax on the DFA remix of Radio 4's "Dance To The Underground.”) From there he became a mainstay at the legendary DFA parties in the early and mid 00s, and developed a reputation as a DJ not for his skill or taste but for his empathy—having a sixth sense to him about when he could take a party to another plane. Like the time he played the first Holy Ghost! 12” at Studio B... I was there! Then there’s Beats In Space Records. I don’t know how Tim finds the time to run this impeccable label of his—now into double digits. But it doesn’t surprise me that, between Tim traveling the world and the world traveling to Tim, he finds great tunes that would otherwise slip by the rest of us. After A Laughing Light of Plenty’s beardo-disco stomp “The Rose”, Tim approached the group’s Eddie Ruscha with a simple question: Is there anything else? That’s how Secret Circuit came to be— killer psych techno disco pop, which is a neat enough summation of Tim’s tastes too. Since then BIS has released gritty schaffel (Gonno’s “Are You Asleep”), spartan house (Jee Day’s "Sum Of Love"), and soft-focus noir-pop (Paradis's "Hemisphere"). All those are monsters, but the story I keep coming back to is Lauer. Before Philip Lauer released music on Tim’s label, he was a fan of Tim’s show. And I like to think I can hear the Beats In Space influence in Lauer’s “Macsat Ring Down” — the clean, glitchy rhythms that fit together puzzle-like, the call and response bass and lead lines, the slow drip of overdrive. It seems custom built for Tim. Total hogwash maybe, and Tim would blush at the suggestion. As a radio host, DJ, label honcho — in any of these humble roles, let alone all of them, Tim’s aim is humble too: Make people excited about the music that excites him. But here he is: releasing records on Beats In Space that he would play on Beats In Space radio, by artists influenced by records Tim previously played on Beats In Space... I mean, wow, right? Snake got your tongue, Tim? If he won’t gloat, I will.
  SoundCloud ↗Bandcamp ↗Discography ↗
  Their RA profile lists DFA Records, Rvng Intl., Beats in Space Records, MR.INTL and 3 more.

  Recently at Xanadu, House of Yes, Good Room · often with Lauer, gabby cocco, Fango, none of them here that night