Power Of Love: A Zine Launch & Valentine’s-Themed Open Decks

Join Head Hi and Crush, a curatorial project led by Sasha Alcocer, to celebrate the launch of her latest zine Power Of Love. The limited edition zine is centered around love songs and the importance of physical media. It features writings and musical selections from the collections of fourteen New York-based DJs, musicians, and artists, ranging from seasoned collectors with deep crates and those new to the art of digging. All musical pieces presented in this project are love songs expressed through soul, disco, house, avant-funk, R&B, folk, calypso, and more. This project honors the sacred connection to physical media, the ritual of collecting music, listening without ads, and the tangible trace of the lived experience.

In spirit of Valentine’s Day, we invite you all on February 12, from 6:00 - 8:00pm to listen to music that’s featured in the zine, as well as participate in our love-themed open decks. All are encouraged to hop on the turntables to present two vinyl records that have elements of romance, desire, crush vibes. Together, we will enjoy the sounds on Head Hi Fi’s Klipsch soundsystem, share track IDs, and let the messages of love uplift our souls, carrying long lasting effects as we continue to create our own light in these dark times.

We’ve also curated a special Head Hi selection of books on the topics of love, NYC history, and music as political resistance. In addition to books, New York-based artist Oks will have a series of her custom ceramic album ashtrays available for purchase, and vinyl records will be for sale provided by The Mixtape Club, a renowned record shop located in Tribeca. Discover something new and listen to your purchase on one of the best hi-fi systems in the city!

Join us for an evening of music, community, and loving vibrations! ❤️ Free! All ages!

List of contributors:

Butter, Cassius Luber, Chance Sulpice, Cosmo, Dove Bardin, Eric Rhinestone, Jack Pompe, Lorena Lohr, Mösco, Prince Language, ራሄል (Rachel), Rahill, Sasha Crush, Stella Seganti

More about the zine:

Power Of Love is a limited edition zine centered around love songs and the importance of physical media. It features writings and musical selections from the collections of fourteen New York-based DJs, musicians, and artists, including Lot Radio residents Prince Language and Cosmo, NTS Radio residents Rahill and Sasha Crush, East Village Radio host ራሄል (Rachel) of Sunstepping, photographers Lorena Lohr and Jack Pompe, multidisciplinary artists Dove Bardin and Eric Rhinestone, archivists Stella Seganti and Chance Sulpice, artist and owner of Head Hi Mösco, and local legends Butter and Cassius Luber.

Power Of Love honors the sacred connection to physical media, the ritual of collecting music, listening without ads, and the tangible trace of the lived experience. A project conceptualized in the wake of Spotify funding war crimes, broadcasting ICE campaigns, and the rise of fascism, this zine calls for a collective return to analog life and a resistance to corporate control of culture and the ways we engage with media. Power Of Love highlights the paramount need to search for and evolve from real-life experiences. Simple things such as going to a bookstore and picking up a book by a writer you hadn't heard of before, finding a dope record from digging in the bins, engaging in conversations with like-minded people, dancing at a club where your neighbor becomes a best friend, all play a critical role in the resistance and opposition of oppression. While corporations perform aggressive tactics to threaten the essential need for real-life experiences and third spaces, the objects and relics we hold onto also play a crucial role in the fight as they reflect parts of our identity, obsessions, and carry memories that modern technology simply could never match.

Our mission is to inspire people to make a conscious effort in analog engagement to music, and develop their own personal archives to preserve and reclaim their lives and stories. Power Of Love is a commitment to reviving our connection to physical media and a step towards restoring love, discovery, and humanity in the everyday.

----

Crush, established in 2018 in Downtown Manhattan, is a curatorial project led by Sasha Alcocer. Crush is rooted in intergenerational community and creativity; a platform for organizing and curating art exhibitions, screenings, and producing publications in NYC. What started as a series of one night pop-up group shows, Crush has now evolved into a flourishing labor of love that celebrates the arts, live music, djing, and DIY dance parties.

Head Hi is an organization dedicated to art, architecture, design and sound specializing in publications and cultural programming with an espresso bar located in Fort Greene, Brooklyn by the Navy Yard. We feature a curated selection of publications from around the globe. Working with local and international artists, designers, publishers, and organizations in various fields, Head Hi is a space for exploration and interaction that hosts talks, book launches, exhibitions, music, performances and other events. Head Hi Fi enhances the experience of sound in the space with its vintage Klipsch La Scala speakers.