New York City's Josh Houtkin and Dave Pianka, a.k.a. JDH and Dave P, have been making the smarter cool kids dance for a few years now at their futuristic Fixed party. The sound heavily skews toward electro-house, but the two come from a punk rock background, so their musical policy is equally anything goes. Touring acts rolling through Fixed have ranged from indie rockers Long Blondes to straight-up techno DJ Ewan Pearson. Meanwhile JDH and Dave P have branched out into production and remix territory.
Tonight's appearance at the weekly Dirty Disco party celebrates the duo's recent mix release, Go Commando (Defend Music). The 17-track disc seamlessly traverses the hippest dance genres, through funk-inflected breaks (Mr. Oizo), eerie Swedish vocal electro (the Knife), minimal techno (Ellen Allien and Apparat), and even reworked indie rock (the Gossip, remixed by Soulwax). It's intelligent, favoring nuance over relentless chain saw bass lines, but eminently danceable. Just as their DJ set tonight, from high up in Pawn Shop's tractor-trailer-cab-cum-DJ-booth, should be. — Arielle Castillo
