Guess Who?

So, how are you?

I'm good. I'm going to tell you now, I have the worst desert dust cough in the entire world, so I'm going to try and not cough.

That's annoying. Does that happen every time you go to Coachella?

I think I just may have smoked one too many cigarettes, unfortunately.

Oh... I’ve been there. How was the weekend though?

It was a lot, but it was amazing. I'm just happy to be back, but I'm kind of a crazy person, I may be going again tomorrow.

Round 2?

I can't, if I go, I'm only going for a day.

Ok so chill. How old were you at your first Coachella?

I want to say my first Coachella was in 2017 or 2018.... It was either a year or two years before I graduated high school. I'm going to say 2017, I was like 16?

What was the energy like this time compared to then?

Oh my gosh. Very different. It wasn't as packed. It was very mellow, you could walk around and bump into so many people because there weren't that many. You could just see everyone. I feel like the first time I went to Coachella, it was such an intense experience because if you lost any of your friends, it was an immediate freakout, there were just so many people. But also, I feel like when I was 16, I was just such a degenerate. [Laughs]

Have you ever run into an ex, enemy, or crush during Coachella?

Oh my God, I ran into my ex this past weekend. And crushes all the time. Maybe one or two this weekend, nothing too crazy.

That's not too bad. Tell me about the GUESS JEANS compound. What was the vibe?

It was amazing. One of my best friends, Nicolai, just takes care of everyone. He's the most incredible person. There were, of course, a bunch of houses on the compound, but in my house, it was just me and my best friends, which was incredible. And across the street was one of my best friends, Devon, and her sister Sydney and like all of those people so that was really nice. And it was also very tight knit, there wasn't a lot of people, it was just a very buddy vibe, you know?

That sounds ideal. How were the parties?

The parties were pretty amazing. The party on Sunday was Metro Boomin and the whole XO crew and all of that. It's funny. I normally am not a trap scene kind of gal. I just can't get into it some of the time, but I was having the time of my life. It was absolutely amazing. I was on stage with fucking Metro and NAV, dancing and jumping around and moshing like a crazy person. Everyone was dancing on tables. Everyone had a bottle in their hand.

That sounds so fun.

It was 10 out of 10, then we went straight from that party into our house and ended up having a party that was like a full-on rave and our friend Hayes DJ'd, which was awesome.

Any messy moments?

I could tell you there were a few messy moments, but at the end of it, you're also just like, you know what? It's Coachella, it gets messy. But once it's over, all the mess, it's like, Oh, it was just at Coachella. It’s over now.

What happens at Coachella stays at Coachella.

Exactly.

Was there anyone you were looking forward to seeing perform?

This year, all the headliners were super sick, but I didn't really catch any of them. I am like a big techno baddie, so I was in the rave and I mean, it was incredible. There was Gesaffelstein who was amazing and Justice, Peggy Goo, Michael Bibi, Honey Dijon, Green Velvet, like I saw a bunch of people that I just absolutely wanted to see and died.

Then there was Khruangbin. I listen to them all the time in my house 24/7. I watch their live studio recordings and all of it. It was an amazing moment just for me because I've listened to the music for so long, and finally being able to see them on stage and watch their whole set, it was super magical and with all of my friends just right there, and it was an amazing moment.

I was almost going to miss it because I was so defeated. I was like, “I'm leaving Saturday. I can’t do it guys. I have to go. I have to leave.” But all my friends were like, Girl, just go back to sleep. And I went back to sleep and I woke up on Sunday and went straight into Khruangbin and I had the time of my life so it was worth it.

Did you hit up Brutalismus 3000?

No. What is that?

It's this electronic music duo from Berlin that's pretty cool, they started making music in 2020.

Sick. No, I didn't see them, but I'm going to have to check them out. Oh, but I also saw Boy Harsher.

Oh yessss, I love Boy Harsher.

Yeah, that was incredible, 10 out of 10. The speakers were definitely blasting and it was just so awesome. They're husband and wife, they were just on stage ripping together. It was just so cool to see, and they were having so much fun.

Okay so Chella Do's and Don’ts. Hit me with a few.

A do, definitely: bring a fanny pack. If you're carrying a purse at Coachella, you're doing it wrong — or just don't bring anything.

What do you always keep in your fanny?

If you go to Coachella without an ID you're screwed, like you need it to get alcohol. Hand sanitizer. Maybe a fan. Oh, sunglasses, chapstick, hair tie, like all the essentials.

Sahara tent or main stage?

Sahara all the way. Although I don't even think I saw one fucking thing at the Sahara tent, maybe Peggy Goo and that was pretty cool, but I was mostly in Yuma, the outdoor stage or the Quasar stage, which was incredible.

Drink of choice?

Vodka-cranberry. I was getting vodka cranberries every other second or Heinekens, because that's what was there. There was so much, I think they work with Coachella. I had a shit ton, and water babe. You have to stay hydrated. It's so gusty and dry out there.

So do water, don't be dehydrated...

Yeah, do water, don't be dehydrated, do… fucking… sneakers, not heels — actually cowboy boots, do cowboy boots or combat boots, not heels. You're in the trenches out there, you never know what's going to happen. Also don't leave your buddies. Do not leave your buddies. You'll get buried. You need your buddies at all times. It was like me and three to four friends out there which was fun.

Did you have a favorite look you wore?

Ooh, favorite look... either my Friday or Saturday look, I wore cowboy boots the first day and combat boots the second, shorts, a belt and a baggy tee, super shishi and super ravey. But it was so crazy and I was just talking with my friend about this, like when we were walking back to our sprinter to leave, there were girls out here in these teeny, tiny bikini tops and I'm just like, I don't know how you guys do it, but I salute you because it is so cold and so windy. I don't know how these girls are doing it, but they're doing it.

I guess, if you have a vision…

Yeah, if that's is your vision, then complete it, go through with it. No backing down.

What won't you do this weekend if you end up going again?

It's not about fashion this weekend. It's definitely about comfort. I think I'll probably be in sweatpants. I was pretty comfortable last weekend but definitely going in there way more chill. If I go back, I'm going to see the same people, but I just think I need to be a little more present. You know?

So no vodka cranberries is what you're saying?

Well… who knows?... Who knows? We're vodka-cran girls. [Laughs]

Culture

The Club Is Coming to the Stage

We enter and make our way to what is approximately front left of the DJ booth, where we’re accustomed to dancing at clubs in New York. “So is this a techno club or a dance performance?” yells an uncertain participant in my boyfriend’s ear. He laughs, bouncing along to Ben UFO, and yells back, “It’s both!” The club has long been a hot topic in European contemporary dance but it is only now making its way into New York performance venues, largely through transatlantic tours. R.O.S.E. follows recent examples like Michele Rizzo’s HIGHER xtn. at MoMA PS1 (May 2024), (LA)HORDE’s Room with a View at NYU Skirball (October 2023), and Gisèle Vienne’s Crowd at BAM (October 2022).

Do these performances compromise the club’s spirit — a space idealized for its anonymity, dark lighting, and thundering music? The notion of the club as a utopian escape is admittedly just that — an ideal — because of how its intense conditions can create barriers to entry. Still, the club remains sacred for many, a place to forge connections and embrace an alternative state of being. Looking at how performances transfer this spirit to new settings reveals what aspects of the club are essential and those that aren’t.

Sharon Eyal, R.O.S.E. 2024. Photography by Stephanie Berger, courtesy of Park Avenue Armory.

Eyal’s dancers make their entrance. The lighting shifts from roving blue to yellow spotlights as Ben UFO’s tracks transition to more melodic beats. Clad in deconstructed lace Dior lingerie with dark red tears painted on their faces, the dancers move cautiously in a tightly maintained pack, slicing paths through the horde with hoof-like steps and jerky leg extensions. After around ten minutes of this controlled choreography, the dancers vanish as the lighting shifts back to blue and Ben UFO picks up his dubby beats. The club, as we knew it, resumes. This cycle of tightly executed movements and free-flowing club-goers repeats several times, each time emboldening the dancers to plunge further into the crowd.

Clubbing in a building once built for the U.S. Army National Guard on Manhattan’s Upper East Side turns out to be surprisingly successful — at least for the audience. What starts as an awkward, scattered group searching for their non existent seats gradually gels into an engaged, bouncing crowd that erupts in cheers each time the dancers enter and exit. Performance patrons who might never step foot in a club find themselves swept up in its potential for communion, moving in unison with fellow ticket holders. But it isn’t until the very end of R.O.S.E. that the dancers finally break free from Eyal’s choreography and join the fired-up audience in a brief moment of improvisatory movement with the music. By keeping her dancers at arm’s length, Eyal seems more interested in the club as a backdrop for her signature movement style than wholly as a space with meaningful stories to be told.

Michele Rizzo, HIGHER xtn. 2024. Photography by Cameron Kelly courtesy of MoMA PS1.

Back in May, I attended Wire Festival, a multiday electronic music event at Knockdown Center that had no shortage of organically united dancefloors. It attracted a crowd of seasoned ravers who were eager to celebrate the start of spring as they danced alongside DJs who played well into the daylight. I left Wire in an afternoon daze to see Michele Rizzo’s HIGHER xtn. at MoMA PS1. My sleepless euphoria only deepened as the performance unfolded, starting with a lone dancer who looked plucked out of the festival.

The dancer, dressed in sneakers, baggy jeans, and a tight tank top, shuffled slowly into the gallery, perfectly in sync with the looping bars of an understated electronic melody. Soon, other dancers, clad in the same staple rave uniform, joined him — each having traveled from Europe for the U.S. museum debut of HIGHER xtn., which premiered at the Stedelijk in Amsterdam in 2018 and quickly became a fixture at kunsthalles and festivals across the continent. As the score’s tempo climbed, the choreography locked into a 16-count sequence, which the dancers executed with precise synchrony. They remained intensely focused, never making eye contact with each other, as they sought release in the endless repetition of synthesized beats. Once the dancers reached their limit, they stopped the sequence and exited the gallery, one by one.

HIGHER xtn. used the focused daylight of the gallery to highlight the meditative release found in the repetitive movements that dominate dark dancefloors. The performance’s restraint brought more consistency and intentionality than Eyal’s all-encompassing club construction in R.O.S.E. Yet both performances offer enticing entry points into club culture for those who may not frequent raves. Rizzo’s ecstatic, hypnotic repetitions reveal how the club can mirror other meditative practices, while Eyal’s interpolation of performance and clubbing helped hesitant audience members blossom by the end. Still, both works overlook one of the most underappreciated aspects of clubbing — its potential for individual expression. HIGHER xtn.’s pristine uniformity especially risks promoting the outdated techno trope that there’s a “right” way to dance to electronic music.

Maybe this shortcoming is, in fact, a benefit. For habitual ravers jaded by one too many sunrise sets, it’s a reminder to return to the club with more intention. If you pause and peer through the darkness, you’ll see hundreds of people moving to the same beat, each with their own subtle variations. This collective choreography is a ready-made spectacle that doesn’t need validation in a theater or museum. And when the music shifts slightly, you can watch the ripple effect sweep through the crowd while feeling the new beat in your body. Maybe this small bit of magic is best left on the dance floor.

Culture

Real Slick, Jack: Psyche Organic Arrives in New York

Shop Psyche Organic at Happier Grocery and Dimes. Coming soon to @citarellagourmetmarket @unionmarket @gourmetgarage @deciccos @fairwaymarket plus many more.

Culture

Porsche SCOPES Brings Art, Music, and Design to Toronto

The festival was a full immersion into Toronto’s dynamic creative energy. Day one set the tone with DJ collective Living Room, followed by an experimental performance by Claire Rousay that captivated the crowd. Jewelry designer Steff Eleoff unveiled her Porsche Taycan 4S art car installation—a bold fusion of automotive and wearable art inspired by her Sedona ring—while OVO Sound’s Naomi Sharon and DVSN wrapped up the night with powerful, genre-defying performances.

We witnessed SCOPES Toronto bridging underground and mainstream with day two’s lineup. DJ Korea Town Acid’s set paved the way for Angelphroot and Dameer’s debut of BASSMATI, a track blending South Asian influences with bass-driven sounds. Chippy Nonstop’s return to Toronto and Richie Hawtin’s extended set were milestones of the evening, proving that the city’s underground scene has a global resonance.

The final day featured standout performances from local pianist Harrison, Indigenous artist Tia Wood, and hip-hop visionary Sean Leon, who elevated his set with a live choir. Moonshine Collective’s film and musical performance explored themes of African utopia, showcasing art’s power to bridge culture and technology. Rising Toronto star SadBoi, who paused her tour to perform at SCOPES, further underscored the festival’s commitment to nurturing local talent.

Throughout the weekend, we experienced installations from artists like Mitsu Mitsu and culinary creations from Bar Mordecai, capturing the multifaceted creativity Porsche SCOPES brought to Toronto. This milestone 10th edition, open to all, allowed Toronto’s vibrant arts scene to thrive, underscoring SCOPES’ mission to celebrate local talent while connecting it to a global audience.

office had the chance to connect with rising star SadBoi ahead of the event. In our conversation, she shared insights into her creative journey and reflected on what performing and growing up in Toronto means to her and her work.

How are you, and where are you at right now? You told me you were traveling.

Um, I’m good, I’m feeling really good right now. I’m traveling back to Salt Lake City. I had a show yesterday in Seattle. I’m on tour right now with Coco and Claire.

How is touring life treating you? Do you like it?

I love being on the road. To be honest, I feel like I don’t know—like I’ve had good experiences and bad ones—but this time it’s really fun, especially with the people I’m surrounded by. It’s also the longest tour I’ve been on; I have about four more weeks to go. I’m trying not to think about how many days I have left.

Do you feel homesick?

Yes, because when I start thinking about how many days are left, I start to miss my dogs. I’ve just been trying to stay in the moment—I don’t even know what day of the week it is, to be honest with you.

Oh, sweet! What are your dogs’ names?

Jillian and Winston. I know, they’re crazy names.

You’ll be performing at SCOPES in Toronto, which is where you grew up. Do you feel like the crowd is different when you perform in Toronto compared to other cities?

Yes, I mean, Toronto just feels different because it’s home. Every time I come back to perform, something in my career has changed. The last time I performed in Toronto, people just wanted to have a good time, and I’m excited to perform back home again to see everyone’s reactions. I know it’s going to be different from the last time. It’s exciting to see your own growth. Toronto is a tough crowd, though. If we’re with you, we’re really with you.

So, they’re super picky? You have to gain their respect, or what is it?

I think Toronto people are in their own world, but when something really connects with them, they’ll lose themselves in the moment. But it takes something to bring them out of that. Toronto crowds are tough because even if they like you, they won’t show it outright until they’re really vibing with you.

It’s like a vibe check, right?

Exactly. They’ll enjoy your performance, but it’s hard to explain. When people visit Toronto, they often say, “Oh, you guys are so nice,” and I’m like, “I don’t think we’re that nice, we’re just polite.” Like, you can walk down the street, and no one will say anything, but it’s just our mannerisms.

You mentioned Toronto can have a moody energy, especially at night, and that the underground night scene there really inspires you. Can you talk more about what makes Toronto's nightlife so influential for you?

Absolutely, Toronto has this unique energy that comes alive at night. Similar to New York, there are the popular clubs everyone knows, but you need to find your niche—the people who know where the real parties are. I remember going to raves in high school yards, sneaking in because I wasn’t old enough. Events like Baby, Jerk!, and Yes Yes Y’all were pivotal, exposing me to DJs blending dancehall with EDM—something I hadn’t seen before. Toronto nightlife is moody and intense, but when everyone’s out, it’s like the whole city is alive.