Outline is a new Knockdown Center-produced series of multi-disciplinary events centered on music that showcases artists of all stripes. Unique each season, Outline will explore and expand Knockdown Center’s distinctive architectural and programmatic context.

The series kicks off with Outline: Winter, marking the leap year on February 29th, 2020 with a headline performance by avant-pop stylist John Maus and a lineup specially selected to bid farewell to the cold.

Throughout 2020, Outline will showcase artists across genres, pairing rising talent with industry legends, incorporating visual art and performance to demonstrate how each discipline informs and enhances one another. Events will utilize the distinct spaces within Knockdown Center in new and unexpected ways, creating moments that could only happen here.

An eclectic mix of artists join John Maus and Boy Harsher for the Outline debut, presenting an experience that crosses genres. Avant-pop artist Katie Gately will celebrate the release of her highly anticipated second album, Loom, with an exclusive New York City appearance. Ben LaMar Gay, a lynchpin of Chicago’s vital jazz scene, will perform a dark ambient set as a duo with Bitchin Bajas instrumentalist Rob Frye. Breakout experimental producer DEBBY FRIDAY from Vancouver, B.C., Patience, the new project from ex-Veronica Falls vocalist Roxanne Clifford, and new age synth pioneer Don Slepian will also perform.

An immersive installation by artist Aya Rodriguez-Izumi will accentuate the unique architectural elements of Knockdown Center’s space with tinsel, and serve as an atmospheric setting for experimental sounds. Interdisciplinary artist Rena Anakwe will accompany Rodriguez-Izumi for an opening performance in the specially created space.

The series name references Knockdown Center’s beginnings as a manufacturer of door frames and glass windows, functional outlines that allow entrance into new places and views of outside points. It also reflects the present and future of the space, an unmistakable architectural structure that can be filled in and transformed radically, depending on what’s held inside.

From the Winter show, Outline installments will follow regularly, with Spring, Summer, and Fall lineups developed to reflect the passing seasons. Look out for announcements on upcoming events!

RSVP here: http://bit.ly/OutlineWinterRSVP

Tickets are on sale now: http://bit.ly/OutlineWinter

◾️ JOHN MAUS ◾️ The multi-talented musician, singer, songwriter, composer and academic is known for his intense stage presence and sounds that bridge the gap from 1980s synth-pop and post-punk to Medieval music.

◾️ BOY HARSHER ◾️ BOY HARSHER is a dark electronic duo that produces gritty dance beats infused with ethereal vocals, creating a sound that is eerie, intense and incredibly danceable. Augustus Muller develops the underbelly of sound with minimal beats and grinding synths, where Jae Matthews whispers, screams and chants on top. Together, the music created is somewhere between industrial, drone and confessional storytelling. Muller and Matthews both have a strong background in film and their cinematic approach translates effectively in both their recordings and live performance. 

◾️ BEN LAMAR GAY ◾️ Prolific composer and cornetist Ben LaMar Gay is a lynchpin of Chicago’s thriving jazz scene, able to hop between free jazz and soul funk, from Brazilian bossa-nova to disquieting ambient drone.

◾️ DEBBY FRIDAY ◾️ A self-described experimentalist, born in Nigeria, raised in Montreal, and now working in Vancouver; DEBBY FRIDAY is an anomaly. Her work spans the spectrum of the audio-visual, resisting categorizations of genre and artistic discipline. She is at once a sound theorist and musician, composer and performer, video artist, poet and PUNK GOD.

◾️ DON SLEPIAN ◾️ A computer engineer turned ambient artist, Don Slepian is mostly known for his remarkable, electronic piano pieces. Ethereal, delicate, and intricately commanding, Slepian boasts twirling synths and improvised, whimsical songs.

◾️ KATIE GATELY ◾️ American experimental electronic musician Katie Gately utilizes a plethora of computer programs to reshape her voice into dense, occasionally unsettling sound constructions. Her unpredictable compositions run from industrial collages to playful, abstract pop tunes, exhibiting an absurdist sense of humor and an ear for rhythm and melody.

◾️ PATIENCE ◾️ Patience began as a bedroom synth project for songwriter Roxanne Clifford after the break up of her acclaimed indie-pop band Veronica Falls. Born out of a desire to experiment with a new sound and analogue synthesizers, the project has since grown to become an all-encompassing persona and serves as the main vehicle for the full emotional spectrum always latent in Clifford’s songwriting.

◾️ AYA RODRIGUEZ-IZUMI ◾️ Aya Rodriguez-Izumi is an interdisciplinary artist whose work blends installation, performance, video and beyond to explore aspects of ritual retention and cultural identity through marginalized histories. She was born in Okinawa, Japan, and grew up between that island and East Harlem, NY, where she currently lives and holds a studio. Her work has been exhibited through group and solo presentations at venues such as El Museo del Barrio, MoCADA, the Knockdown Center, Rush Arts Gallery, Pulse Miami Beach, the Material Art Fair in Mexico City and the International House of Japan in Tokyo among others. She was the recipient of the Emma Bee Bernstein Fellowship at A.I.R. Gallery in New York in 2017-2018, a Jerome Foundation Fellowship at Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota in 2018, and the 2018-2019 JUSFC Creative Artist Fellowship supported by the National Endowment of the Arts. Rodriguez-Izumi earned a BFA in Fine Arts from Parsons the New School for Design in 2009, an MFA in Fine Arts from The School of Visuals Arts in 2017. In 2019 she joined the MFA Fine Art faculty at her graduate alma mater of SVA.

◾️ RENA ANAKWE ◾️ Rena Anakwe is an interdisciplinary artist and performer working primarily with sound, visuals, and scent. Exploring intersections between traditional healing practices, spirituality and performance, she creates works focused on sensory-based, experiential interactions using creative technology. Rena was a 2019 ISSUE Project Room Artist-in-Residence, a 2019 Abrons Arts Center (AAC) Sound Series commissioned artist, a 2018 Signal Culture Artist-in-Residence and has collaborated, produced and shown audio/visual/scent work at venues including: Lincoln Center (NYC), BAMcafé (NYC), MoMA PS1 (NYC), CultureHub (NYC), Pioneer Works (NYC), and Montez Press Radio (NYC). She is based in Brooklyn, New York by way of Nigeria and Canada. || aspaceforsound.com

On February 22, Mind-Matter embraces our grandest & most immersive production featuring 5 world-class DJ & Live acts at the Knockdown Center. On this night, we are proud to present an innovative lineup that places spotlight on those who elevate the game.

Artists (A to Z):

Ae:ther

Kevin de Vries

Moonwalk

Radio Slave

Woo York

Hello? Is anyone out there? We’ve been sending messages, trying to reach you, emptying ourselves into the machine. We meant to move you. The data tells us you wanted a reminder. That death doesn’t sleep. That you could fail and get up again. That you have a choice to make. That you could release the past. You have walls to inspect and sometimes you have to face them alone but not always. We’re making room for you.

January 17, 2020 10pm-4am @ Knockdown Center in Queens, NY.

bbymutha

Joey LaBeija

SHYBOI

8ULENTINA

LOKA

Via App

Bookworms

VVEISS

Dylan Ali

Extol

Total Freedom

Deli Girls

More TBA

21+

All profits go to Al Otro Lado, a non-profit that provides legal aid to asylum seekers, migrants, and deportees throughout Latin America.

Let 2019 collapse and shimmer into stardust as you begin anew. Over the span of one transcendent evening, hypnotic performances will warp and bend around a century-old warehouse while celestial aerialists and installations ripple across time and space itself. This is a cosmic call to glimmer, gravitate, and emerge reborn.

FEATURES //

– A trio of stages

– Orbiting planetarium

– Room of infinite mirrors

– Psychedelic installations

– Pirate ship and art cars

– Transcendent aerialists & performers

– Festival vendors

7th annual Winter Wonderland celebration returns to the Knockdown Center on Saturday, December 14th.

ARMEN MIRAN

BRYANT JENSEN B2B SAQIB

DANIEL COWEL

JACOB GROENING

KORA

LOVECRAFT

MADOTA

ROBIN DEY

They have been a driving force of nightlife for decades, but have never played together. Friday Dec 20, 2019 – an event that has been discussed, dreamed of and hoped for…is finally happening! CHUS & CEBALLOS, BORIS & OSCAR G together for one night only at Knockdown Center.

Tables service contact – Jonpaulpezzo@icloud.com

CHUS + CEBALLOS
As pioneers and creators of the underground movement known as the “Iberican sound,” Chus & Ceballos have established themselves as one of the world’s elite DJ Duos, and never fail to bring “la fiesta” in each and every performance. Touring consistently since 2000, the pair have appeared at most of the world’s elite clubs, including residencies at Space Miami, Stereo Montreal, Ageha Tokyo and Pacha NYC. Chus’ record label Stereo Productions is highly respected by DJ’s as one of the industry most reliable sources of top quality, peak hour House Music.

BORIS
Boris is amongst a select few born and bred New Yorker DJ’s who have managed to remain A List headliners through multiple generations of nightlife. From the infamous Roxy to Crobar to Pacha NYC, Boris has maintained a loyal following that has followed him during his journey thorugh all of New York’s premier venues, and have shown such devotion that they even coined the term “Believers.” Ultimately Boris released a series of high successful Believe In Boris CD’s, and his “Believe” parties even to this day are guaranteed sell-outs. Currently his Transmit record label imprint is a go-to source for DJ’s from Carl Cox to Dubfire to Paco Osuna, all of whom support his music and also frequently reach out to him for tracks for theie own labels.

OSCAR G
With over 25 years as one of the world’s premier DJ / Artists, Oscar G has made his impact both through his productions and his deejaying. As one half of the Murk production team, he has been a force along with Ralph Falcon behind worldwide chart-topping dance hits including Fired Up, Dark Beat and Some Lovin’ along with many more. As a solo artist his album releases are essential additions to music collections of house music fans worldwide, as are his two DVD’s recorded live from the Club Space Terrace. As a DJ he has had residencies at Liquid, Club Space and Heart in Miami, and Pacha, Space Ibiza New York and Output in New York, all of which were defining moments in the history of those two mecca’s of American nightclub culture.

Gunna live in concert on Thanksgiving Eve at Knockdown Center! (18+)

gunna.offcampuspresents.com 🎉

Without resting much after Unsound Krakow, Unsound is set to return to New York on November 22nd and 23rd. Unsound New York 2019 is the first step toward a new Unsound future in the city, with the two-day event culminating with Knockdown Center as the main presenter and venue. The focus of the 2019 program is entirely on live shows and performances.

22nd November, free opening concert at St. Peter’s Church, Chelsea
Księżyc

23rd November 8pm-2am, Knockdown Center
Abby Echiverri & Leisure Muffin
Amnesia Scanner
Caterina Barbieri
Further Reductions
January Hunt + Octonomy
Nivhek (aka Grouper)
Pedestrian Deposit
rrao + Clay Wilson
Shredded Nerve + Jackson Pratt
The Bug + MISS RED
Tim Hecker + Konoyo Ensemble
Via App + Bookworms present: Asthyna

Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1336293

Unsound New York 2019 is presented by Unsound and Knockdown Center in partnership with Blank Forms, The Bunker and Quo Vadis.
Soft Power is organised in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music programme and POLSKA 100, the international cultural programme celebrating the centenary of Poland regaining independence. Financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the multi-annual programme NIEPODLEGŁA 2017–2022.
Księżyc is presented by Blank Forms and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.
Caterina Barbieri and Miss Red are presented with We Are Europe.