Event Recap: N.A.S.A. 20th Anniversary at Music Hall of Williamsburg
With so much renewed interest as of late in '90s music and fashion, it's a happy coincidence that New York rave party N.A.S.A. returned on Saturday to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Back in the '90s N.A.S.A. was the Big Apple rave party, regularly featuring some of the scene's best DJs and providing a home for the nomadic music.
While glowsticks and baggy pants were evident at the anniversary party, which was hosted by DJ Scotto, the event was a nostalgic celebration of rave music and its PLUR ethos — only attended by people who were too young to investigate the scene the first time around and a few diehards from back in the day. Thanks to a fantastic sound system, songs like Josh Wink's epic "Higher State of Consciousness" boomed from the speakers. Jocks such as DJ Trace tore it up, dropping sets brimming with old-school classics that were more like history lessons.
While London duo N-Joi (who were dressed in smart dress shirts and blazers) looked more like bankers escaping the Libor scandal, they battled back from a few early wonky mixes and satisfied with aplomb, even dropping massive anthems like Human Resouce's "Dominator." 808 State were simply phenomenal, inadvertently adding an historical context, showing Manchester, England's importance to rave music.
With a bill rounded out by Altern 8's Mark Archer (pictured above left with Scotto), Carlos Soul Slinger and Joey Beltram, N.A.S.A.'s anniversary proved that while much of rave fashion now looks silly in retrospect, much of its music can still pack a punch.
Image by Darren Ressler
