FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

FaltyDL, Honey Dijon, Suzi Analogue, and More Share Some of Brooklyn's Best Kept Secrets

Best bodega cat? Sunrise viewing platform? Most slept-on local producer? We got you covered, fam.

With 2,636,735 reported residents in 2015, Brooklyn has more inhabitants than some major countries around the world. As New York City's most populous borough, it's a melting pot like no other: art, music, food, sprawling gentrification, bodega cats, VICE's headquarters—it's all here. The borough is also home to the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, a two-weekend long festival that celebrates electronic music and takes place in many of the area's best nightclubs and tucked away dancefloors. ICYMI, Saturday, THUMP will be presenting a full day of exciting panels at Kinfolk 90 in Williamsburg, before we hightail it to Analog BKNY to watch The Black Madonna and Mike Servito play one of their spellbinding b2b sets. On Friday, BEMF and RVNG will present Transference featuring the Breadwoman collective at Knockdown Center in Queens, while the next night will also include a collaboration with Unter featuring techno icon Robert Hood.

Advertisement

While Brooklyn's profile as an hotbed of dance music clearly has never been greater, the borough still contains countless sounds, spots, and shawarma sellers that fly under the radar. With many of the area's best native artists coming together to show their stuff this weekend for BEMF, we caught up with a few of those involved to hear about their Best Kept Brooklyn Secrets. You're welcome.

FaltyDL THUMP: Best place to watch the sunrise after a night out?

FaltyDL: The corner of Grand and River Street in Williamsburg. Join the Hasidic community for early morning prayer and sun worship.

Best place to get drunk for really cheap?
It's been a while since I went on a bender, but Zablovski used to be my shit!

Favorite piece of street art?
Love the giant mural on Broadway and South 6th street.

Best place to find records that isn't a record store?
Many Sunday stoop sales but also Salvation Army or other used/vintage stores.

Best place to find Club Mate that Isn't Bossa Nova?
Berlin?

Best night to go out that isn't on the weekend?
François K will be doing his Deep Space night at Output on a Wednesday nights I believe. Certainly not on the weekend.

Honey Dijon THUMP: Who's the best door person at parties?

Honey Dijon: Connie Fleming.

Best night to go out that isn't on the weekend?
Thursday.

Most slept on Brooklyn producer?
Galcher Lustwerk.

Best Brooklyn DJ booth to play in?
Analog BKNY.

Best Brooklyn DJ to play b2b with?
Michael Magnan.

Advertisement

Suzi Analogue THUMP: What's your favorite piece of street art?

Suzi Analogue: The ODB Mural on Franklin Ave. He grew up in that hood. RIP Dirt McGirt.

Best bbq spot?
Smoke Joint BBQ near downtown Brooklyn. Up the street from Spike Lee's 40 Acres & A Mule HQ. The wings are dipped in goldensmoke.

Best halal cart?
Do I have to say a cart? Oasis is the standard go-to and everybody knows it! Right off the North 6th L stop.

Best Brooklyn DJ booth to play in?
Kinfolk 90. It feels like playing inside of an organic spaceship.

Best place to find records that isn't a record store?
Salvation Army in Fort Greene. Sometimes you don't even have to go inside, I found a huge stack of sample heat inside two bags sitting right outside once; I guess to be donated.

Manchildblack Best place to get drunk for really cheap?

Manchildblack: C'mon Everybody in Bed Stuy. Fantastic bartenders and not too taxing on the wallet. $3 Tecates can make for a very happy hour (until 9PM), indeed.

Favorite subway performer (and where to find them)?
Kafele Bandele (trumpet) and Eliki (vocalist). I've heard these two perform both together and separately on the A line. Their jazzy sounds always make the ordinary commute extraordinary.

Best place to people watch that definitely isn't North Williamsburg?
Nostrand Cafe on Nostrand Avenue and Lafayette in Bed Stuy. Great Korean food, good coffee, and they have enormous windows that face Nostrand Avenue. Perfect for watching the gentrification of Bed Stuy in real time.

Advertisement

Best Brooklyn DJ booth to play in?
Two-way tie. Analog Brooklyn for big room and Black Flamingo for a more intimate experience.

Best Brooklyn DJ to play b2b with?
Most definitely my partner in crime for our Get Together functions, DJ Afro. His selections are always dope!

Mary Yuzovskaya THUMP: Where can we find the best bodega cat?

Mary Yuzovskaya: Bodega cats (all the cats, actually) mean the world to me. I pay a lot of attention to them, we have long intellectual conversations and deep emotional connections. I can't leave a bodega without giving their cat a couple kisses at least. But my all-time absolutely favorite cat lives in a bodega in Greenpoint. Located on Manhattan Avenue between Dupont St and Eagle St. I'm attaching her picture for your amusement :)

Best place to watch the sunrise after a night out?
In my experience during the sunrise hour people are still actively dancing at a party and are too busy listening to the music to go see the sunrise. So I guess you either go out, or you watch the sunrise ;) Unless you are at an outdoor party or the venue has a roof!

Best place to do yoga on a budget (that doesn't smell awful)?
I go to YMCA in Bed-Stuy. Convenient schedule and a sauna! And no, it doesn't smell awful at all!

Best place to find Club Mate that Isn't Bossa Nova?
I always get my Club Mate at this wonderful supermarket near Kosciusko Street subway stop on the J train. 1165 Broadway, on the border of Bushwick and Bed-Stuy, the most Club Mate consuming neighborhoods in Brooklyn if you ask me.

Advertisement

Best Brooklyn DJ booth to play in?
For me nothing is more important than the setup in the DJ booth. I'm incredibly strict when it comes to my technical rider and also as a vinyl-only DJ, I need enough space for my records. If we are talking about clubs in Brooklyn, I think Output has probably the most convenient and cozy booth. Enough space for everything and everyone, private bathroom, special spot for vinyl, great monitors, turntables, slipmats, needles, and anything else you might possibly need. Besides, they have great sound engineers and stage managers. If we are talking about warehouse parties where promoters often need to build the DJ booth from scratch, I would say that more and more Brooklyn-based promoters pleasantly surprise me with attention they pay to all the details. In 2016, best warehouse booths I had a chance to play at were probably at Aphotic and Unter events.

Mike Servito

THUMP: What's the most slept-on Brooklyn label?
Mike Servito: L.I.E.S. (insert sarcasm here) Honestly, something I haven't discovered yet.

Most slept on Brooklyn producer?
Richard Gamble of Lost Soul Enterprises. I really dig his production and his whole aesthetic. That Richard is a classy one. I don't think he's slept on, actually. But he's under the radar, probably because he is smart!

Best Brooklyn dancefloor anthem that people don't know is from Brooklyn?
Justin Cudmore's "Forget It." And I say that because it's new and everyone asks me what it is. It's been drawing an instant reaction everywhere I've played this summer.

Advertisement

Best Brooklyn DJ booth to play in?
Good Room, Greenpoint. I like that it's spacious and not too detached from the crowd. It works for me.

Best Brooklyn DJ to play b2b with?
I have two: Gunnar Haslam and Justin Cudmore. We can play anything, be serious, and still have fun together. Not a plug for Hotmix. Not at all.

Uproot Andy THUMP: Best place to find records that isn't a record store?

Uproot Andy: The Thing second hand shop in Greenpoint, in the basement. Bring a face mask, they'll give you gloves.

Best Brooklyn dancefloor anthem that people don't know is from Brooklyn?
"Badman Forward," produced by Ricky Blaze.

Best bbq?
Exquisite Express, jerk chicken, because it's Brooklyn, not Texas. [2847 Church Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11226]

Best place to find Club Mate that Isn't Bossa Nova?
Trans Pecos!

Best Brooklyn DJ booth to play in?
It has to be Output, it feels like you're driving a boat.

Turtle Bugg Best place to find records that isn't a record store?

Turtle Bugg: The Thing; any second hand or junk store really

Most slept on Brooklyn DJ?
Me.

Most slept on Brooklyn label?
Basement Floor.

Most slept on Brooklyn producer?
Probably my homie Love Letters

Best Brooklyn DJ to play b2b with?
I can't go with just one on this. Playing with Chung as Soul 2 Seoul is as easy as playing by myself since we grew up together, and learned to DJ at his place. Volvox and I have played b2b a few times and that's always special because most people don't expect it. But the highlight of this year was playing b2b with Mike Servito at Unter x Bunker II, definitely need to make that happen again.