Note: This Show took place on July 25th, 2025
I’m going to preface this by saying that this might be one of the most interesting experiences of my life. Never had I gone to a dance-related venue and never not danced…? Let’s rewind, shall we? It all started as a solo side quest. After reporting on the Lot Radio re-opening after its low-key closure last month, I knew I wanted to prioritize making my way over to this talked-about Brooklyn venue.
I arrive at an interesting outdoor space, situated on a triangular plot of land, with no clear enclosure. The Lot Radio is free to the public, making all the more sense as I see people spill over to benches located across the pedestrian-only street. What I was not prepared to see was nobody dancing, only sitting around in conversation. Having listened to The Lot Radio sets online, I half expected to see at least a small group of people dancing. Later, I learned that what I witnessed was, in fact, the norm for this particular venue (with a few exceptions, of course).
I remember standing around in shock. What happened to everyone complaining that club culture is dying and that no one wants to dance anymore? It was very clear that no one was concerned about that here. Blending in with the crowd, I sat to the side and listened. Trying to decipher this feeling proved difficult. It felt almost sacrilegious NOT to dance to techno and footwork. But there I sat, for roughly an hour and a half by myself, wondering the ultimate question: what is dance music without dance?
I knew once I left that I had to talk to Duality, one of the DJs playing that night, whom I had specifically come to see. Not only did we graduate from the same alma mater, but we also share some mutual friends. I can recall attending many parties where he would play, and I felt even more intrigued to sit down with him. Was I the only one who held the same feelings about the overall experience? Needless to say, I left that interview with an entirely different perspective.
Miami-based Duality (real name Ty Davis) is no stranger to the NYC scene, with this latest show being a part of his second stint here. DJ’ing for over 6 years, he holds a passion for showcasing other artists of color with his label Public Energy, which was recently covered in the latest issue of DJMag. Getting into The Lot is no easy feat, and Ty does not shy away from that, describing how the venue is booked out a year in advance at times. He is one of the roughly 20~ artists1 from Miami who have had the chance to perform at the acclaimed radio station.
As a writer, I mainly utilize the acronym EDM2 as an all-encompassing term to describe sub-genres like house and techno. To my surprise, he strongly encourages me to disregard that term from my vocabulary altogether, and for good reason. Coined by Richard James Burgess in 19803, the term Electronic Dance Music started as a way to define a sound manipulated by new technology. It has since ballooned into a corporate term in the music industry, in an attempt to more broadly categorize technologically manipulated dance music. Unfortunately, the term also became a way to marginalize dance music away from its Black origins, thus celebrating what Ty describes as “white mediocrity” in the space.
“Things of quality have no fear of time”. -Duality
Circling back to his time at The Lot, I addressed my observations of the overall experience in our conversation, especially the lack of dancing. He, interestingly enough, finds this behavior (or lack thereof) to be acceptable and situational to both the audience and the venue. Describing The Lot as a “third-space”, he expected his audience to approach his music with a more relaxed energy, especially considering that his set was towards the beginning of the night4. But make no mistake, when it comes to his hometown of Miami, he wants his audience to stop acting too cool and just sweat it out on the dancefloor.
Listening to this mix again as I'm writing, I have many thoughts. All 4 DJs showcased from the Never Normal Soundsystem felt uniquely different, highlighting the global diversity within dance music as a whole. Listening back, I still cannot imagine how people were not shaking ass to DJ OatMilk’s Latin section?! Focusing more on Duality’s set, I appreciated his use of Baltimore club, which featured fun hip-hop samples, classic 90’s house tracks, and experimentation with bold club-forward tracks with soft techno sounds. I always say a tracklist says a lot about an artist in this space. Although we are not close, it’s very clear to me that Ty appreciates what I like to call “certified hood classics”. What’s not to love about that?
Overall, I am genuinely intrigued to explore how dance music can live outside of the practice of dancing. This may even explain how people are misconstuing the notion of club culture “dying”. Are we simply just not familiar with the assignment at hand? My experience at the Lot Radio continues to challenge my perception of the scene at large. Should expectations at particular venues be clearly defined? Should we ignore the cultural norm and dance anyway?
Related Sets to Check out
This was according to Duality in our interview.
EDM = Electronic Dance Music
https://edm.com/industry/inside-the-origins-of-electronic-dance-music/
He started playing around 11pm EST
This is such a lovely article. I had never thought about different venues that play techno and house having certain established etiquette. Duality shared some useful insight on that. Thanks for writing this! As for me, I’m dancing every time!