WIRE FESTIVAL returns to Knockdown Center for its third edition, May 16-19. Expanding its scope, the festival runs over the course of three days, from Friday the 17th through Sunday the 19th, with Thursday the 16th devoted to evening talks in collaboration with Resident Advisor. WIRE continues its run of inviting some of techno’s most essential and groundbreaking artists alongside cutting edge crews. Stage 1, located in the Main Hall, serves as a centerpiece for the festival’s programming. Stage 2 has always been notorious for these takeovers. This year, WIRE invites two European collectives who are defining techno in 2024: Berlin’s queer renegades Mala Junta and Amsterdam’s long-running Vault Sessions. A major addition this year is an outdoor house stage that runs all day Sunday, bringing a new dimension to the weekend. The Ambient Stage will return as well with bespoke programming from some of NY’s most versatile and exciting DJs. French lighting collective Collectif Scale flies over from Paris to install a custom fixture near Stage 2, and Studio GumGum presents a new work in the structure above the Ambient Stage.
Italians Do It Better presents: Johnny Jewel’s 50th birtday party at Knockdown Center.
For its third edition, RUSH invites techno legend Len Faki to headline, alongside Daria Kolosova, Volvox and Concrete Husband. The Figure Records boss is one of techno’s most enduring and commanding voices, with a honed, focus style that seizes control of the dancefloor. Ukraine’s Daria Kolosova has proven herself to be a complete badass, with a tough-as-nails style that grooves and swerves with zero hesitation. NY’s best join them: Volvox and Concrete Husband step up to complete the lineup.
Join us for Snowed in with Tiki Disco, an inddor winter day party from the kings of summer. Eli Escobar, DJ Lloyd and Andy Pry take over the Atrium from 3-10, outfitting the room with summery flair to counter winter’s chill. As always, this is free with RSVP.
Kim Gordon headlines Knockdown Center to celebrate her new solo album, The Collective, joined by a cast of some of the avant garde’s most exciting artists.
Kelsey Lu and L’Rain join her in the Atrium, while Circuit des Yeux, frequent collaborator Bill Nace and more play a bespoke noise show in our smaller side room.
Pan-Pot returns to Knockdown Center in what has become an annual tradition. The German unit stands as one of the most popular and definitive acts in the modern techno landscape. With over two decades of activity under their belt, the duo has proven themselves to be truly timeless; they’re ever-evolving while never losing sight of the elegant, assured chemistry that makes them stand out.
Pan-Pot turned heads right from the start. Tracks like “Charly” and “Popy & Caste” went all-in on a harder, darker strain of minimal techno, building whole worlds around ultra-crisp sonics and supple, undeniable grooves. This tense, alluring quality has remained a constant throughout their career as Pan-Pot have pushed the grandeur and scale to new heights. Last year saw the release of “Forte,” a full length that charts a course through soaring, even cinematic techno. Knockdown Center is proud to welcome them back for the third year in a row.
Sara Landry takes over Knockdown Center with an all night long set.
At once immensely creative and wholly uncompromising, Sara is a self-taught producer, audio engineer, and DJ known for her dark, driving, and divinely feminine brand of industrial techno. Though only a few years into what is sure to be a long and storied career, Sara has quickly emerged as one of the most exciting new voices in techno, with her releases on Techno Germany, RAW, and Crisis of Man quickly attracting an ever-growing community of loyal fans and cementing her firmly on the radar of some of the industry’s most prominent tastemakers, including Possession, Perc, 999999999, I Hate Models, Amelie Lens, Nico Moreno, VTSS, SPFDJ, Shlømo, Cera Khin, DYEN, Adam Beyer, and more.
Outline opens 2024 with a very special edition: Godspeed You! Black Emperor headlines alongside Alan Sparkhawk (of Low) Marina Herlop and Maria BC.
Godspeed is one of post-rock’s truly canonical groups, a mercurial and iconic ensemble whose work both defines and transcends the genre. Their sprawling, 15+ minute instrumental suites give voice to a hard-earned hope amidst crumbling, late capitalist blight. Albums like “F# A# ∞,” “Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven” and, more recently, “G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!” play like cinematic traversals of our neoliberal nightmare, weaving spoken word interludes, patiently billowing atmospheres, deeply affecting instrumental passages and climaxes of staggering beauty. Operating well outside of the music industry for thirty years, Godspeed has proven to be a beloved rarity: a group you can hang your hat on, who also wears their heart on their sleeve. “For us every tune started with the blues,” they told The Guardian in 2012. “But pointed to heaven near the end, because how could you find heaven without acknowledging the current blues, right?”
They’re joined by Alan Sparhawk. His group Low, now defunct following the tragic death of his partner and bandmate Mimi Parker in late 2022, was one of Godspeed’s rare peers. Sparhawk and Parker’s relentlessly creative explorations honed raw-to-the-bone, devastating modern lullabies and hymns. Recent albums saw them radically reinvent themselves with a focus on brutal, digital electronics. This will be Alan’s first show in NYC as a solo artist.
Marina Herlop and Maria BC complete the lineup. Both are emerging vocalists who draw, in distinct ways, on operatic techniques meshed with modern electronics, avantgarde structures and a timeless poetry.