Events

[ELECTRONIC/DANCE] In December, a new Buffalo party collective called Strange Allure threw their first party. It was held at a secret warehouse space in Buffalo and featured internationally known Toronto-based artist Basic Soul Unit, who vibrated the warehouse’s cement walls with his rounded-out house and techno tunes to the delight of an enthusiastic roomful of dancers. For their second edition this Saturday, March 19, they’ll turn toward the acid techno sounds of Volvox. As was true for their first event, the location of the party will be held secret until the day of the show.

The party’s headliner, Volvox, real name Ariana Paoletti, is part of a record label based out of New York City called Discwoman, which focuses on women in the electronic music scene. Earlier this month, on International Womens Day, Discwoman was featured on the first episode of a new web-documentary series presented Smirnoff called Tribes. 

The documentary reveals some troubling statistics about women in electronic music—for instance, that less than 20% of electronic music record labels have women on their rosters, and that women make up only a small fraction of the line ups of most major music festivals. It also briefly explores the pioneering role women like Daphne Oram played in the advent of electronic music production in the early 1940s. 

Prior to her electronic music ventures, Volvox lived in Buffalo and has even credited the Buffalo rave scene in the early 2000s as having a formative effect on her music. Her music eventually drew her to Brooklyn where she is making a name for herself as a purveyor of everything from hot deep house, acid, and techno (for a taste, check out her exceptional set recorded live at LeBain, currently streaming on her Soundcloud page).

Toronto’s CL will provide direct support along with some opening sets by various Strange Allure affiliated DJs and the visuals of Frankie NP. Buffalo electronic music disciples should be aware of this event as these types of magical parties tend to be a rare happening, though hopefully no longer with the emergence of Strange Allure.