Live updates from opening day 

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

A party in Minneapolis next week will bring the underground music scene to one of the city's best-known music institutions.

Think techno, house, electro and everything in between, said Oriana, a Pivot DJ also known as Ori the Ghost. “The idea was to just create a night of intermixing of people and sounds.”

Pivot’s nine DJs have been hosting parties in homes and warehouses throughout the city for years, playing music until the very early hours of the morning. 

But if you're not part of the Minneapolis dance music scene, you might not know it exists.

“We tend to throw pretty intense parties for a non-partygoer to appreciate, which is staying out until 4 a.m. or 6 a.m.,” said Willy, another DJ who goes by XMinus1. “That makes a lot of people gasp.”

The two say Pivot is drawn together more by a shared ethos than any one type of sound. While Oriana plans a techno set with what she calls “Latin flair,” each DJ has their own specialty. Their music stretches across and beyond genre. 

“Like my favorite techno is usually techno that people argue whether or not it's techno,” Oriana said. “That's pretty fun to me.”

At their upcoming show, DJs will spin sets side-by-side, back-to-back, in a “versus” style. And while EDM and other dance music parties have gone viral on TikTok with big lights and spectacle, Willy says that’s not Pivot’s style. 

Regulars know to expect both intensity and comfort. Pivot is a queer DJ collective and works to create a space where people can feel safe. 

“And as a consequence, we have these kinds of transient spaces that exist in which people can come together and be themselves and have a lot of fun,” Willy said.

Sometimes people just want a dark space and good music.

Arts and Culture

Shows

Morning Edition

NewsPartners

Homepage

Gretchen Brown

Author

 takes over First Avenue’s 7th Street Entry on Friday, Sept. 4 for a night of music made for dancing. 

Local DJ collective Pivot takes over First Avenue’s 7th Street Entry on Friday, Sept. 4 for a night of music made for dancing. 


Minneapolis DJ collective will bring underground sounds to 7th Street Entry

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox