Photographer: Rommel Nunez, @rommelnunezg.
Written by Macy Sinreich
On a shockingly pleasant Saturday night smack-dab in the middle of winter midterms season, I found myself in Lower Manhattan in a safety-pinned mini skirt and a sheer tank top. I stood outside of 393 Broadway in the cold concrete cityscape listening to the muted thumping of bass that was about to become a whole lot louder.
Just a handful of hours prior, I had been camped out in Butler library trying (and failing) to read Pride and Prejudice, when I received a slack message offering up the opportunity to attend “Open the Garage!” that night. I immediately recalled a conversation held over a spontaneous group lunch the previous weekend in which Isaac, a member of Level III Collective who goes by the DJ name Mesa (@mesa.wav), mentioned an upcoming event the group was hosting at a lit-up studio space in the Lower East Side. In a moment of spontaneity, I took the ticket and got some friends on board with no idea of what lay in store, just eager to escape the pit of studying that had engulfed me all week.
People were encouraged to approach the DJ booth from all angles to feel the music and energy. Photographer: Rommel Nunez, @rommelnunezg
And escape I did. Stepping through the doorway of Lume Studios felt like entering a portal to a different world. I found myself enveloped in a haze of blue and purple light as I made my way through the mirror-lined entrance. I felt as if I was looking at a character in a Daft Punk music video or the set of some Blade Runner-esque sci-fi film as I watched my reflection entering the space, eyes wide, taking in the flood of stimuli around me. Moments later, we turned into the main room- the “garage”, although this was far from your dad’s rusty old barn. Visuals covered every inch of the room- a life sized three-dimensional optical illusion of pulsating dots, glitchy collage-like videos featuring a rotating Level III logo captivated, and fluid cloud-like color fields transformed the plain white walls into something simultaneously dystopian and ethereal. Clothing racks featuring pieces designed by the artists @diordova and @jude.fairchild occupied one corner of the dancefloor, sharing the space rather than distracting from it. A wall divided the central room and the smaller back room where the sound and projections were still present, but softened just enough for guests to stand back and socialize or to ask for a drink (or several) at the open bar.
And then of course, there was the music, an amalgamation of subgenres of garage, house, techno, and a host of other styles outside of the mainstream club music you might expect from your average NYC night out. At the center of the main room, the DJ booth was clearly the heart of the event- an intentional decision made to create a more immersive and engaging environment, according to DJ Dennis Free (@dennisfreee). Dennis, one of the cofounders of Level III and a central organizer of “Open the Garage!”, described the philosophy behind the collective’s music selection:
@dwellsnyc spinning house, techno, and much more at Level III Collective’s Saturday Sessions. Photographer: Rommel Nunez, @rommelnunezg
“I could play a ton of top 40 songs and that would probably be going great… but that’s not that interesting, because I’m just doing stuff that I know is already gonna work… I think that my favorite thing right now is being able to bring people into sonic spaces that they would normally not want to engage in. Like I know a lot of the people the other day had never really listened to a lot of garage, techno, house and stuff, but we did it in a way that I felt was more digestible, I suppose. So people could still have a good time… we’re trying to create that type of space where you can be a little vulnerable for a second, go into a genre that you don’t necessarily know, and then you can vibe to it. That’s the community we’re trying to build up, is people who are completely open to new sounds”.
@nogismyname putting on a high-energy set. Photographer: Rommel Nunez, @rommelnunezg.
As someone who could not tell you the difference between genres like grime and speed garage, I definitely felt the spirit of openness that Dennis characterized. Despite not being intimately familiar with a majority of the sounds that played during the event, I found myself completely absorbed in the music. While the occasional hit- take PinkPanthress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a liar pt. 2” or Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex” for example- punctuated each of the sets, the energy that filled the crowd was constant and powerful throughout the entire night. There was no shortage of movement, no loss of momentum; the music carried the night. The studio itself, with its projections and unique division of space, helped foster an atmosphere that allowed people to focus on the music and the dance, and to switch to a different area if they wanted a break to talk and sip.
@zanonkosi bumping afrobeats and techno vibes at Level III’s Saturday Sessions. Photographer: Rommel Nunez, @rommelnunezg.
This setup somewhat mirrors the blueprint of European nightlife that Dennis spoke enthusiastically to me about, one in which people come first and foremost for the music, and can move to a smoking room inside the venue if they aren’t dancing; “I think in New York there isn’t that same connection, people are just standing there on their phones, doing everything they wanna do in the same spot that they should be dancing. So we’re trying to flip that, but it’s a slow process for sure, because it’s not as big of an experimental community in New York as maybe other places. But we’re trying to find it,” he explained.
The crowd certainly seemed receptive to this format, perhaps resulting from the diversity of the attendees. In contrast to previous parties hosted by Level III, “Open the Garage!” had more non-Columbia guests than ever, probably thanks to a combination of word of mouth, TikTok advertising, and the overall momentum that the collective has built since its inception. I had a conversation with an extremely well-dressed Fashion Institute of Technology student after recognizing a tattoo artist’s work on her arm; my friends ran into several people who they had gone to high school with; this was far from an insular Columbia clique party. People were there because they wanted to be there, a welcome shift towards the type of community the collective is trying to build; “[We’re] trying to stay away from [affiliating with Columbia] and just be an independent organization. We do happen to go to Columbia, but that’s secondary”, says Dennis.
Dova sporting one of his own designs on a white polo. Photographer: Rommel Nunez, @rommelnunezg.
Dova, one of the aforementioned vendors, echoed this sentiment about the crowd and the type of environment they shaped at the event. “New York was very welcoming, and people were very eager to come up to me and meet me. Which was actually something I was worried about, because I was having so much fun dancing in the crowd that I wanted to still be approachable. I had to go calm down and throw myself against the wall”. A childhood friend of Dennis, Dova flew all the way from California to participate in “Open the Garage!”, where he sold clothes with airbrushed graphics, mostly of cartoon and anime designs (a personal favorite of mine was a white t-shirt boasting a large image of Bugs Bunny), which can be bought online through his instagram (@diordova). Selling based on a sliding price scale in an effort to make his products affordable, he even gave gifts out to those who paid for things on the higher end of the scale, something that his online business format is usually a barrier to. Dova expressed his appreciation for what in-person selling at such an immersive event brings to him and his brand; “I definitely have a strong connection to the nights where I sell things and give them from hand to hand- that exchange. It definitely feels a lot more fulfilling than an online order. So that’s why I stay as active as I can with events in-person, and it was a blessing to be able to go to the East Coast and participate in something as special as Open The Garage!”.
The visuals, layout, music, and vendors made Level III’s most recent endeavor a truly unique event for everyone involved. “Open the Garage!”’s undeniable success is a strong sign of the potential that the collective has in the future. Formed just a few years ago in December of 2020, the momentum that the group has built so far is sure to grow even faster and stronger. With their next event being planned for late April- possibly a laid-back rooftop experience, I was told- the collective is excited about their prospects. “Especially after that last one, I think a lot of people caught on. We had a lot of other music-oriented groups reaching out and trying to see if we could collab on events, and there’s definitely going to be a lot of opportunities in the future for it,” says Dennis. The message is clear: Level III Collective is not just breaking into the scene, they’re busting through it with refreshing momentum- and they’re ready to take those willing to join them on their ascent to another level.
Level III Collective can be found @levelthreecollective on Instagram and TikTok