New York City has a constant pulse—always vibrating up through the pavement. In the early 1980s, I was out every night. People talk about NYC being dangerous then—I felt relatively safe (as a man). You just had to know how to spot trouble and avoid it. At night, the deserted streets felt like they belonged to you.
Around midnight, I’d walk 20 minutes across town to Avenue A and step into the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge. Go-Go boys and girls in drag were up on the bar—drinks were being served through legs, sweat, and strips of fabric. Electronic Post-Punk and early ’80s NY Disco played for the dancers in the back. I met Mary Trimble at the Pyramid when she was working the bar. It was also the first club that gave me a DJ residency. I met Richard Alvarez at Mudd Club, then we’d see each other out, everywhere, between 1am and 6am.
In the mid-1990s, Richard and Mark Rivas got in touch, saying they’d recorded Mary talking over a house rhythm track—Hotbox. Somewhere between a song of longing and a Bitch Track with a female vocal. Her voice was wonderfully naughty, lascivious, and desirous.
In my apartment on St. Marks and Avenue A, we tried to shape it, but the track never landed. Still, Mary’s performance stayed with me all these years: the rhythm, her accent, the humor—and her “come hither” attitude.
And now it’s here: Slower, sleazy in 2025.
* HotBox (Crowdpleaser’s remix): My friend and collaborator, creates a high energy version turning it up to 129 BPM.
Taking Acid at the Disco "Early" version : Starts as a syncopated House track with disco strings, dubby effects, then unwinds midway through into an Acid inflected experience.
The Late version: It's that moment you realize all the early people have left, the dance floor opens up—you keep dancing until the sun is coming up. Guitars replace the Acid synths creating a trance like mood.
An experimentation in the new wave of Rai, with collaborations ranging from Casablanca to Berlin, Algiers to Beirut, Paris to Oujda. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 9, 2025
A raw, homespun side project from the frontman of Choir Boy nods to garage punk and Springsteen-esque plain-spoken lyricism Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 9, 2025
An unplugged acoustic set from the French post-rock collective offers an intimate atmosphere filled with gentle melancholy. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 9, 2025