LORANT.
Lorant has always been tuned into the underground sound of NYC. From his monthly residency for the Rockstrap party he co-produces at Rockbar in the West Village to his regular sets at The Eagle NYC, you can connect to his passion for the music that he has honed in the dark, sexy spaces of the city. He’s brought his blend of spacey tribal house and deep techno to Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London, Cub Scout at The Eagle LA, The Stud SF, and [sic] Community Club in Mexico City. As a producer, he worked at the legendary Twisted Records before founding his own queer artist label, Royal Advisor Records, in 2010. As he continues creating original productions and remixes, Lorant has new projects on the horizon that respect his deep history in the club scene of New York City.
* * *
DXD: How would you best describe your sound?
L: It's a blend of spacey tribal house and deep techno. I always use the words sizzling percussion, but more so than just words, it's about queer joy and the throbbing eroticism of the dance floor.
DXD: Being born originally in Istanbul, but growing up NJ/NY, would you say Istanbul still influences you as an artist?
L: Absolutely. A place like Istanbul, with its magic, architecture, and history, always stays with you. As a port city of many cultures, Istanbul was a blueprint for New York in a lot of ways so absorbing this sort of mega-energy has been a constant theme in my life.
DXD: How did you get your start in NYC nightlife?
L: I started going to clubs because I wanted to learn how to mix records and the best way to do that was by watching DJs work in front of a crowd. Even in the very beginning, I always treated my experiences in the scene as an education, whether they were good experiences or bad. As you mentioned, I grew up in New Jersey near the George Washington bridge so the city was always calling. It was the late 90's and Saturday night radio shows would feature DJs who would play house tracks and remixes of pop songs you wouldn't hear during the day – things like the David Morales remix of, “My All,” by Mariah Carey and, “If Madonna Calls,” by Junior Vasquez. I was obsessed with a song called, “Perfect Love," by House of Prince. Fast forward a couple of years later and I was working at Twisted Records, which is the label that released, "Perfect Love.” A few years after that, I started making music and I was suddenly doing edits for Junior Vasquez. My calling has always been the New York dance floor.
My first time playing in public was when I entered an open turntable competition at The Stonewall Inn and won. Around the same time, I started playing at the New York City LGBTQ Center's youth dances, so there are a lot of layers to this queer DJ’s story, but that's how it's supposed to be.
DXD: Rockstrap has been bringing house music to the West Village at Rockbar for the past 7 years. How did that party get started and what do you feel has contributed to its longevity?
L: Rockstrap was initially a Wednesday night party at Rockbar that I wasn't involved in. It was about to be taken out of rotation when they asked me if I wanted to take a shot at bringing some attention to it, so Patrick Matzig, my partner in organizing the party, and I moved it to the first Friday of every month and attendance picked up. Our first official Friday was in July of 2017, but since we lost a lot of dates to the pandemic, it sometimes doesn't feel like we've been doing it for that long. I believe that the key to our success has been the welcoming nature of the party. It is not only body/sex-positive, but also attitude-positive.You make friends at Rockstrap and no one judges you for being yourself.
DXD: You’ve also become a regular at The Eagle NYC. As a New Yorker, how does it feel to be part of such an esteemed institution?
L: It’s a special feeling for sure. I played there on Pride last year as well as this past New Year's Eve so it's been a great start to our relationship. I bring something a little different to them sonically and it clicks with the clientele as well as the staff. We’re all in it together from the first song to the last when the lights come up. I've always seen the gay community as a tribe that gets its strength from dancing together and The Eagle is a great example of that.
DXD: You launched Royal Advisor Records in 2010, which focused on queer artists, including The Illustrious Blacks, Tareq of Boys’ Shorts, and Will Sheridan. What inspired the label and what is your proudest moment of its run through 2022?
L: It was very important to me that my label put faces to names instead of the single-driven format of most dance music labels where you don't really know what the artists look like. You hear their songs or you play their music in your sets, but they’re just one of many under a label’s graphic template on Beatport. I didn’t want that. I wanted people to get to know the artists, whether it was through performances or music videos or even just through me walking around the city and hanging up posters to promote an upcoming album drop.
There were a lot of big moments, but my proudest were the ones that felt like a turning point of some sort, especially when it came to personal growth: recording the song, "In My House," with SAMN and Tigga Calore, going to SXSW for the first time with Will Sheridan, having Severino of Horse Meat Disco as a remixer on the label, putting together the Astral Bodies compilation with fellow DJs and producers who didn’t want to stop making music during the pandemic, directing music videos. I don't love listing things because it leaves out so many people and the memories I've made with them, but that's some of it.
DXD: Do you have any productions/remixes that stand out to you sentimentally?
L: I'm a sucker for full-circle moments so I'll say my track, "Friends," being the last release on RAR definitely stands out. When the song came out, I hadn’t decided to close the label yet, but once I realized that it was time, “Friends,” as the closer made perfect sense since friendship was a big part of the label’s journey. That and the Orville Peck remix I did last summer since I actually got to meet him a few weeks ago.
DXD: As a DJ, you’ve also made the rounds on the West Coast in LA and SF as well as Mexico City. Did you find those markets allowed you to play any differently than NYC?
L: I think that my sound carries the New York feel without being too obvious about it. In that sense, it travels well, but you shouldn’t feel restrained to try different things no matter where you are.
DXD: It’s Saturday night and you’re not working. Where are you at to have a good time?
L: These days, I’m at home working on new music. There’s a lot of drama on the way.
DXD: We love that. Tell us about a track/set/artist that has been inspiring you lately.
L: There’s a Berlin-based queer mix series that I recently recorded a set for called House of Others. They’re very passionate and organized in the way they go about highlighting the DJs they feature on their show. A new mix goes up every week, so I’ve been visiting their page a lot lately.
DXD: Top three things you love seeing at parties?
L: People dancing with their friends, guys in the fog taking each other's shirts off, happy faces lost in a trance.
DXD: Where can we catch you spinning next?
L: I’m at Rockstrap at Rockbar on the first Friday of every month. I’ll be at The Eagle on Sunday, March 30 and Friday, April 11. This summer, I’ll be making my Provincetown debut and I’m excited to return to Basement around the same time. I’m also working on a second installment of my SPACE TRIBE party.
* * *
Thank you Lorant! You can keep up with him on Instagram and Soundcloud. You’ve got his dates and know the drill. Jump into the fog and dance.
Xx,
