Salvation on the Dance Floor: Pleasure Savior
Interview by Paul Oswell
If you want to know about dance parties in New Orleans, there's one Instagram account that you should definitely be following: Pleasure Savior. Weekly listings about the city's best and weirdest DJ nights come out every Friday, and in between, their meme game is strong. But who is Pleasure Savior? We caught up with them via email and asked them for a slice of their wisdom...
Up All Night: Hey Pleasure Savior! Thanks for talking to us! How long have you been running your IG account, and what inspired you to start it?
Pleasure Savior: Heya heeeey! Whew... this May it'll be three years since I started Pleasure Savior. After the Covid vaccine came out, like the rest of the world I missed people and parties desperately; and since there wasn't a calendar of events that focused on the types of parties I wanted to go to (mainly diverse, young, unique) I figured I might as well do it myself.
UAN: Are you N.O. born and raised?
PS: 'Fraid not. I'm a New Yorker. Queens. Nightlife is as natural to NY as pizza, but if I had to sum it up in one word it would be: Divergent. The best parties always had all types represented. Models. Writers. European transplants. Rappers. Trust fund NYU kids. Bankers. Skaters. Weird ass performance artists. Everyone's from different places yet in the same place and it isn't weird.
I've been an event producer for 16 years, focusing mostly on marketing and music events, so while I've been blessed to work on some incredible parties with people I used to tape to my wall as a kid, I was burnt out pulling 60-70 hours a week on average. I came to New Orleans to calm myself. And I have. The nightlife is definitely smaller, but it doesn't feel that different ultimately.
UAN: You produce and promote your own dance party nights - tell us about the ones you host currently and the inspiration for those.
PS: I do! I have a monthly Reggaeton party at Cafe Istanbul (the next is March 30 btw!) and an Afrobeats day party at The Rabbit Hole on April 6. My inspiration behind all of my parties is to honestly try and bring good people and good music together. I don't give a shit where you're from. Do you like to dance? Do you like to laugh? Do you have childlike wonder? If so, let's go.
UAN: You're also a DJ. Do you feel like this is a good city to be a DJ in?
PS: I used to DJ in NY as Black Betty (most of the places I used to play are gone now) but I enjoyed being a party producer more. I spent more time as a radio host (I had a weekly hip-hop show, NO SUGAR, NO CREAM - also the name of my hip-hop party that I throw here from time to time). New Orleans is a great city to be a DJ, but it does require a lot of consistency and discipline to get your name out. There are less opportunities here than larger cities plus a good amount of competition. But the audience is eager and ready to dance. And as long as you have that, you're as big as you have the drive to be.
UAN: Where are your favorite venues to DJ at and/or to go and lose yourself dancing?
PS: I tend to go where the DJs are and not necessarily the venue. I've seen great shows in random-ass houses with JBLs and fancy venues with line-arrays. From Poor Boys to Rabbit Hole to Cafe Istanbul, I've lost myself at each one more than once.
UAN: Do people assume Pleasure Savior is run by a white man? I assume people do? Is it funny or just annoying to subvert their expectations?
People do assume I'm a white guy! I'm equally amused and annoyed because it brings up a lot of questions and concerns about representation in nightlife. Men are generally the ones calling the shots...especially white men. I'm proud to be an outlier in that case.
UAN: What are your favorite musical genres? What are you listening to these days?
PS: I know it's cliche but I don't have a favorite. I love hip-hop. Massive Attack. I love shoegaze. Prince. I love yacht rock. David Bowie. I love new jack swing. I love house and techno and UK dubstep. Emphasis on the UK when I'm talking dubstep though. American Dubstep makes me nauseous. As for what I'm listening to right now. I keep my entire library on shuffle at all times. And I add new tracks I find here and there. I'm listening to the new Kanye more than I'd care to admit publicly, but I've accepted he's not someone I need to love as a human being in order to respect his ability.
UAN: Has your taste changed much over the years?
PS: Changed? Not really. It's definitely evolved though. I try to absorb as much shit as I can from as many different resources. I follow so many magazines and newsletters and artists and labels, my cup overfloweth.
UAN: Which local DJs do you like?
I have so many, but I have the utmost respect for D1ME, Kidd Love, H3LLNAH, Lil Art Hoe, and Kuti.
Money is no object: let's hear your dream DJ line up...
PS: LSDXOXO & Kaytranada with a surprise appearance from Big Freedia & Hasizzle.
UAN: Anything else you want to tell us? A life philosophy? Late night food recommendations? Grooming tips?
PS: If there's anything I wanna say is that while nightlife can often skew nihilist and ultimately meaningless, I think it's important for people in our industry to start focusing more on our mental and physical health; not just for ourselves, but for the community at large. I've always looked at New Orleans as a place for advanced partiers, but ultimately the true value of a party is fellowship and community...and when the world is burning (like it literally is) community is all we have. We're all we have.
Go and follow Pleasure Savior on their Instagram, you won't regret it!
See Pleasure Savior at their Reggaeton night at Cafe Istanbul on March 30th and their Afrobeats day party at The Rabbit Hole on April 6th.