New York DJ

Many clients we've worked with have told us they wanted to use a favorite restaurant for their receptions, but they often find that they aren't able to do it because the restaurant doesn't have the resources to handle wedding receptions, or the price to rent the restaurant is too expensive. Thus, many clients end up going with their second choice - a reception hall with in-house staff. We've been DJ-ing in and around New York City for a long time, and our experience has taught us not every reception hall offers a rushed, generic or "cheesy" feel, but let's just say the image of the reception hall as having "cookie-cutter" services is at times based in reality.

The reception halls often will say they can make your celebration special and one-of-a-kind, but since these venues are designed to pack in many events they usually need to run them with an assembly-line mentality, and we've seen it's not very easy for these halls to pull off a feel of originality. At a restaurant, it's often easier for a couple (or a couple along with their DJ and other vendors) to craft a structure and feel for an event with a more personal style - since venues that don't do weddings every weekend often are more open to being flexible with the elements they recommend including in a reception and how to "flow" them. But, when thinking of choosing a restaurant for their reception, couples ask: can restaurants run weddings smoothly? Is there enough space to dance after dinner? And is it affordable? Well, just like every hall doesn't hold ten wedding receptions at once, we've found through working all over the city for many years that there are many excellent restaurants in and around the city able pull off wedding receptions that satisfy all these criteria - and the best thing is, there's an impressive diversity in styles (and unexpectedly great locations) out there.

In this post, as well as more posts soon to follow, we'll spotlight a few restaurants in and around New York City that are some of the best we've seen over the years for having a wedding reception. We've co-ordinated closely with these establishments and their accomodating staffs, observed guests raving about their food, used their layouts to provide a comfortable space for dancing, and know that the couples we've worked for who've booked these restaurants aren't millionaires. In short, these establishments give couples the whole package if they're looking to hold a reception at a restaurant and do it with style.

Thalassa - This Tribeca restaurant (pictured left), serving Greek and Mediterranean, is sleek and modern in its decor but has just enough exposed brick walls and mahogany wine cabinets to give it earthiness and warmth. The guests always remark how the food is excellent; the staff effortlessly knows how to handle the increased pace, coordination, and larger scale of a wedding; the managers are flexible with timelines and structuring the special moments of the reception like entrances, first dances, etc.; and after dinner, the space is just the right size to accommodate a decent-sized dancing area along with a portable bar nearby. For bigger parties, or simply for added flexibility in planning, there is also a downstairs wine cellar big enough to be used for either a lounge, dining room, or a dancing area. Go here for a sample of events we’ve DJ-ed at Thalassa over the years. Their website is www.thalassanyc.com

Golden Unicorn - Just south of Thalassa, in Chinatown, is the Golden Unicorn (pictured right), a gourmet Chinese restaurant that offers some of the best Chinese food in the city. This isn’t your typical food you may know from the corner Chinese place either. This is much more upscale and attractively-prepared. Dinners here for receptions feature an over 10 course meal of what essentially are small plates for each guest of more exotic and eclectic Chinese food. Its taste is always extremely delicious and accessible to even conservative palates - we know, as we've been there before watching hundreds of people of all cultures really enjoying the food. The courses come not too fast or not too slow, but just right - a clear sign that the restaurant is very used to handling wedding receptions. The venue’s atmosphere is in places grand and traditional, with plenty of red and, well, golden, creatures like unicorns and dragons present. But because most of this decor is centered around the dancing area, it makes the vibe feel very festive and fun, as the lights go down and people pack this part of the space. Of course, the restaurant is a great venue for Chinese weddings or multi-cultural weddings with a Chinese side, but it's a credit to the atmosphere and quality of the food that we've been here not just for Chinese weddings. For its slight grandiose atmosphere, the restaurant is so down-to-earth and friendly in terms of the staff's attitude. The managers we’ve worked at the Golden Unicorn also are able to help with Cantonese and/or Mandarin translations along with MC's if extensive translations are needed throughout the event, as some of the events we've done here have gone beyond the basic Chinese announcements that we often use in our MC-ing at Chinese weddings. Go here for a sample of events we've DJ-ed at the Golden Unicorn. Their website is www.goldenunicornrestaurant.com.

Riverview - This cozy but slyly chic restaurant (pictured left), located on the waterfront on the border of the Astoria and Long Island City neighborhoods of Queens, is a true hidden gem. It's located in a quiet, pretty area that day or night gives you spectacular views of the midtown Manhattan skyline; there's a broad-ranging, eclectic menu of food that always tastes fresh, a breezy, ethereal atmosphere that mingles angular modern decor with organic touches like a variety of flower and small tree branch arrangements; a stylish circular lounge/bar area; and a dining room that is both elegant and casual. Also, there's a room off to the side of the dining room where wedding ceremonies can be held. We and our clients have worked with the staff here and the managers are extremely flexible at planning a reception structure that fits any style, from "indie" or eclectic to more traditional or formal. The openness of the dining room also makes the transition from dinner to dancing very easy for guests. Go here for a sample of events we've DJ-ed at Riverview. Their website is www.riverviewny.com.
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Chairlift are one of the more prominent bands often lumped in with the hipster-favorite genre "chillwave," characterized mainly by its heavy use of '80s-inspired new wave synthesizer washes coupled with bits of homemade electronica touches, from skittery dance beats to ambient nature sound loops. Because of this, chillwave often has a more messy, cobbled-together, and at times endearing feel that balance out its slick new wave influences and - at its best - make this emerging style sound new and fresh.

Just because Chairlift are often considered "hipster cool" though, don't think you haven't heard of them. This Brooklyn-based band got some short but heavy exposure that gave them a bump to near-mainstream pop notice a few years ago because of their fun synthpop tune "Bruises." You probably know it not by the title, but by the lyrical riff "I tried to do handstands for you, I tried to do handstands for you" sung to a bright, catchy melody.

When it comes to not only chillwave acts, but most artists inspired by the new wave or new romantic sound of the '80s - from really popular groups like The Killers, to moderately-known bands like La Roux (read about them in a post from this blog here) to more obscure ones like The Mary Onettes (read about them in a post from this blog here) - their songs usually either feel "influenced by" or "derivative of" their inspirations. The former often means a song takes a cue from the genre but makes it into something original and alive, while the latter just sounds dated and flat.

"I Belong in Your Arms", from the group's new album Something, has so much of an '80s feel that it shouldn't sound so alive and fresh, but it does, and therefore impressively makes wondering whether it's the most original sound or not unimportant. Like "Bruises", it's great because it simply sticks in your head with bouncy verses and a uplifting chorus that resides in that sweet spot of being catchy and fun but not too cutesy or cloying. This new song, though, is not a simple re-hash of "Bruises" - there's a bit less quirkiness, and a bit more sexiness. Plus, you'll no doubt be into this song right away if you're a fan of New Order of the Cure  - the chorus here has a soaring beauty reminiscent of the best New Order songs, and singer Caroline Polachek even does a yelp and that Robert Smith "happy growl" thing with her voice that seems straight out of the Cure's "Lovecats." But ultimately, even if you don't know the styles that may have inspired the song's sound, this tune will win anyone over with its giddy joy. It's a song that simply but completely captures the feeling of being in Big Fun Love; it's like a little kid who's dancing and goofing around for you so much that after a few moments you can't help but smile.

Because this song goes down so easy and never "gets in the way" by being too bass-heavy, but also always feels lively and fun, it's perfect to include almost anywhere - from events where cool and interesting background music is important to setting a mood, like cocktail parties and slient auctions, to places where music is much more on display, like clubs, fashion show runways, and dance floors at indie weddings.

Have a listen, and whether you call this song new wave, chillwave, indie electro-pop, or ditch the labels and simply call it just catchy and fun, I think most anyone will agree that "I Belong in Your Arms" is quite easy to embrace.

Chairlift - I Belong in Your Arms

We’ve performed at a large number of Korean weddings over the years (go here to see a sampling of many of them), and, while we are rarely asked to play entirely Korean pop music as couples planning weddings in and around the New York City area tend to have a diverse guest list and usually don’t want one kind of music to dominate, often Korean music is an important element. The most common form of Korean pop music today is called “K-pop”, which, loosely defined, is dance music with a sound influenced by the beat and rhythms of American hip-hop or R &B, and often performed often by boy or girl groups. (For a more complete guide to incorporating K-pop at your event, go to our blog post here.)

We know and enjoy new K-pop as well as K-pop going back to its roots in the early nineties, and we know well how it can enliven Korean wedding celebrations, whether it’s played here and there throughout the event mixed in with other pop music genres like hip-hop, house, merengue or others, or if K-pop is played in one or two “sets” after many of the guests have had a few drinks and are more inclined to bust out their dance moves and sing the lyrics to a classic K-pop anthem from the nineties by H.O.T or DJ Doc.

But since K-pop really only has been really popular since the early nineties, a lot of older Korean guests like the parents of the bride and groom and their relatives and friends (say, from ages 50 to 70) often aren't very familiar with K-pop. Sometimes they know and prefer American music from the seventies or eighties instead. If these older guests are not as Americanized, though, or have come from Korea to New York for the celebration, often what they respond to is a style of Korean pop called “trot” music, which was the most commonly-listened to kind of song before the rise of K-pop. A recent artist known for playing the trot style are Jang Yoon Jung (pictured at left), and one of the more famous classic trot singers is Seol Woon Doh (pictured at right).

Because a lot of younger Koreans (say, from ages 20 to 40) often tell us they had to grow up listening to their parents play trot music over and over while growing up, often they know of trot but think of it as old-fashioned. However, given that most couples we meet also want to include everyone at the wedding, they do usually agree that it likely will be enjoyed by the older guests, and be the way to get more conservative Koreans - often who can be reluctant to dance - to get up and party a bit.

The name Trot, or “teurototeu” as it is known in Korean, comes from its similarity to the rhythms used in a foxtrot dance. Trot music consists of a simple one-two beat that is repeated throughout the song, and its classic singers, many of whom are in their 50s or 60s today, have a romantic and sometimes playful loungey style, are roughly like the Korean equivalent of revered vocalists like Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald or Tony Bennett – talented veterans whose music might not be as trendy, but who are well-known and respected for their voices and for their songs’ firm place in Korean music history.

Recently, however, just like how American jazz vocal standards have in the past decade or so been re-enlivened by younger singers like Michael Buble and Diana Krall, trot has been re-discovered by some younger Korean artists, some of whom are even from massively popular K-pop groups. This trot "comeback" began in the mid-2000s with a song called “Eomeona” (a Korean expression which roughly translates to “Oh My Goodness”) by Jang Yoon Jung. This song mixed a trot rhythm and trot vocal style with Latin rhythms and was a big hit in South Korea, becoming the introduction for many K-pop fans to the trot style and making trot more "cool" to many younger Koreans.

When we play trot music at Korean weddings, often we find we get an enthusiastic response, from family members young an old, Americanized and non-Americanized, dancing and singing along together to it (much like the right “oldies” song from doo-wop to disco will do for American guests) to it being that spark that gets an older Korean couple to the dancefloor to share slower dance, or simply being a moment that gives the older guests something to pleasantly smile and bounce their heads to at cocktail hour or dinner.

Below you’ll get a sample of how everything old is new again - have a listen to “Eomeona” by Jang Yoon Jung, as well as classic trot singer Seol Woon Doh performing an updated version of a trot song called “Samba” with his son Lee-U, himself a member of a K-pop group.

Though the funhouse mirror-like psychedelic pants on her Experiments EP cover might make you think this song is influenced by late-seventies disco and/or early nineties rave music, "Begging Me," a 2011 single from up-and-coming English singer/songwriter Florrie Arnold, is much more a catchy dance-pop song in the mold of '80s synth revisionist bands like La Roux, Cut Copy and Class Actress.

While many of the "new" new wave artists these days can feel tiresome since it seems like they often lift synth riffs straight from New Order or The Cure, this tune, right from the start, punches through any suspicion of being overly derivative with the immediate intro of its sexy chorus that hooks you with its catchy melody. From there the song never lets up, with its addictive mix of ethereal vocals and synth washes coupled with the female R&B-like swagger of the lyrics.

The sexy confidence of "Begging Me" has more in common with the R & B / house music fusion anthems as done in the past few years by Rihanna, Lady Gaga, or Flo Rida. But because the sound of "Begging Me" is breezier - there's no overly booming bass, stretched-out drum loop builds-ups, or even any calls to put your hands in the air - it falls somewhere in between housey R &B and the aforementioned sound of the moodier electro artists. And maybe that's more than anything why the song feels fresh - it seems to be going for the spot just under dance floor rager, but over the chilled-out synth vibe. As a result, this is perfect to be played in those many moments at events like fashion shows or cocktail lounge mixers, where you need sexy energy that adds to the atmosphere, but not a full-on thumping that gets in the way.

What's also impressive is that Florrie has come up with a song that feels fresh and confident with relatively little experience making music. She's in her early 20s, with only one EP released prior to this one, though she also is a songwriter, programmer, and drummer. Oh, and also, she's a pretty model, which never hurts - as you can no doubt tell by the sleek video for the song.