Tim Sweeney is a name synonymous with dance music and New York City. Although it’s rare to see his name on club line ups these days, there was a period in the 2000s and 2010s where he was the most influential DJ in the city.
From humble beginnings on AM college radio, Tim has spent more than two decades bringing the best sounds from around the world into homes across the globe. His Beats in Space show on WNYU aired every Tuesday at 10.30pm, highlighting then up and coming New York DJs and musicians like James Murphy and the DFA Records crew, Juan MacLean, Ron Morelli, Kim Ann Foxman, Veronica Vasicka, Justin Van Der Volgen, Rub N Tug, Mike Simonetti, Lovefingers, and Mike Servito, who each went on to have international DJ careers.
Stopping by the WNYU studio also became a must for out of state and international DJs while on tour in NYC. Over the years, the best of the best DJs have been featured on Beats in Space; Todd Terje, Daniel Avery, Ben UFO, Lena Willikens, Prosumer, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Andrew Weatherall, Powder, The Orb, Avalon Emerson, DJ Harvey, Perel, Gerd Janson, and basically every DJ you could ever want to see/hear at a club.
From the radio show he started the Beats in Space label and threw a bunch of parties before moving the radio show to Apple Music. After 24 years and more than 1000 episodes, it's still all about the music for Sweeney. Bringing new sounds to the people is still the name of his game, whether it's over the airwaves or in the club.
We wanted to take a minute to highlight Sweeney’s impact on our scene before jumping into this week’s listings. And if you’re free this Friday, you can hear his show on Apple Music at 4pm EST or dance to his tunes IRL at Gabriela.
2.9 - Tim Sweeney at Gabriela
"I want to try to find music that moves people" - that's been Tim Sweeney's mantra for the past two decades. He's a DJ, radio host, label owner and party thrower who has spent the past 20 plus years bringing new sounds to the party people all over the world. When he’s not hosting Beats in Space on Apple Music, he's digging for new tunes to take the party to another planet for his DJ sets. So prepare to go to the cosmos tonight when Sweeney does an all night set at Gabriela.
2.11 - Ultra Naté at Good Room
Ultra Naté is responsible for one of the most prolific house tracks of all time, ‘Free’. The legend goes that as a very early recipient of a spanking new promo, Louie Vega broke 'Free' at the 1997 Winter Music Conference. But it wasn’t until it was adopted by the LGBTQI+ community that it was elevated into charts worldwide and became an queer anthem. The legendary Baltimore singer, songwriter, producer and DJ will be making her Good Room debut this Sunday at the Hun Tea party and here’s hoping Ultra Naté will have those vocal chords warmed up for us.
2.11 - Paradisco with Occupy The Disco and James Axon at Le Bain
Occupy The Disco is keeping the tradition of Sunday Tea Dance alive with another season of Paradisco at Le Bain. The queer crew has been a regular fixture at penthouse discotheque since 2016, giving dancers a vitamin D fix while getting down to the sounds of house, techno, disco, and beyond. Party resident Tad Haes will be joined by deep digger James Axon this Sunday at Le Bain. James is known for introducing dance floors to unheard and exciting music, equally often through forward-thinking new releases as through the forgotten and obscure gems of the past.
Follow the links for mixes and playlists from the DJs and Musical Hosts who will be playing at these venues.
