despacido

James Murphy & & 2MANYDJS bringing Despacio back to Knockdown Center in April

Despacio, James Murphy and Soulwax/2MANYDJS brothers Stephen & David Dewaele‘s bespoke dance party featuring a “one-of-a-kind sound system designed to deliver absolutely optimum audio to the dance floor, showcasing classic records in entirely new dimensions,” will return to NYC’s Knockdown Center on April 2-4. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 31 at 10 AM.

James Murphy and the Dewaeles will be behind the decks all three nights for seven-hour sessions from 9PM – 4 AM. It was last at Knockdown Center in 2018:

The main attraction of the event was arguably the sound system, which consisted of seven customized McIntosh amplifiers standing an impressive eleven feet tall. With the Dewaeles and Murphy tucked away behind a partitioned DJ booth, the speakers, which were surrounded by red velvet ropes as if to designate VIP status, became the de facto guest stars of the night. Though the event technically started at 8 PM, the room was relatively empty until around 9:30, when Soulwax boldly kicked things off with Paul McCartney‘s “Check My Machine.” That cut set the tone for the evening’s setlist, which, as with previous Despacios, was focused heavily on disco and new wave from the ’70s and ’80s. But “The Hustle,” this wasn’t. Everything from Black Sabbath to “The Safety Dance” blared through the towering speakers…

…the main focal point of the room was the cartoonishly large disco ball, which, when illuminated by day-glo lights, lent the room some Paradise Garage type vibes. At one point, the disco ball was cast in yellow light as The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” blasted through the speakers, an almost surreal experience that brought the daylight indoors at 2 AM.

For folks in NYC, this may cut the sting of Soulwax having to postpone their U.S. tour due to production delays.