apert:re | Maayan Nidam/ Evan Baggs/ Nicolas Lutz

Stranger Than Paradise presents the second edition of apert:re, a series dedicated to showcasing those artists on the bleeding edge of minimal dance music. This November we have a monolithic lineup of talents, Berlin-based yet with varying backgrounds.

It's impossible to reduce Maayan Nidam's productions and DJ sets to a single sound, but certain qualities prevail: a loping, swinging; a hips-and-ass-friendly sense of groove, a bubbling sense of fun, with keen sense of timbre and tone color. It's also possible to discern a certain sense of humor—nothing over the top, simply the occasional wink or sly grin as a riff steps out and takes its star turn. The Israeli national does techno like none other.

Evan Baggs, the best-loved resident of The Zoo Project, has had a big year. From his new home of Berlin, Evan toured Europe extensively, with stops at Closer (Kiev), Club Guesthouse (Bucharest) and Robert Johnson (Offenbach). Despite his full schedule, Evan produced an RA Podcast and released twice on the much-lauded Cabaret Recordings to critical acclaim.

Nicolas Lutz is the Uruguyan-born head of My Own Jupiter. His homebase of Club Der Visionaere is telling of his approach to the mix: studied and obscure, yet immediate and moving. His sets are characterized by painstakingly unearthed house and techno gems anchored by a breakbeat.

Playlist party starter Jubilee plays an extended set in the club to start, and Baltimore's finest minimal selector, Cornel Novac, lays a spacey foundation in the Green Room (roof). BaltoTroit returns to the bar with guest Jandro and hosts Boss Ross, Steve Kirn and Itzjack.

Maayan Nidam, an artist in flux, continues to change, evolve and challenge boundaries both in her Berlin studio and on stage. She has built a reputation as a fine DJ and producer who favours a subtle approach towards mesmeric moments. Read more: here.

This born and bred New Yorker has gained a reputation through his sheer passion, clever track selections and precise mixing. Through word of mouth – and years before his first releases - he has been invited to DJ for crowds all over the world from Brazil to China and many places in between. His DJ sets are as exciting and diverse as his home town and have gained him compliments from many international DJ’s and producers, who recognize him as a legitimate up-and-coming talent.

From Jupiter to Berlin and countless capitals in between, Nicolas Lutz has always operated best on the very outskirts of dance floor culture. A master of mystery and relentless seeker, his knack for unearthing precious gemstones -for immediate exploitation and then, slowly but surely, the greater good of the community- is uncanny, and its this insistence on clearing a path between the unknown and the utterly unexpected that elevate his sets into explorations of faraway lunar landscapes and charters through the depths of murky seas. Never one to compromise or contradict a steadfast musical philosophy, one only needs to see the owner of My Own Jupiter in action to understand the existence of his cult following.