Pier pressure

>> NYC's Nickodemus floats his own boat

by KRISTA

Strobelight seizures are one of the hidden health risks faced by clubgoers, and you can add seasickness to that now too. Held on a boat called the Frying Pan, docked at the Chelsea Piers on NYC's Manhattan shore of the Hudson river, the Turntables on the Hudson events take place once a week, every year from May to October. Nickodemus and his partner Mariano, of the label Rhythmlove, have been throwing their weekly parties since '98. They started their summer fling because they were lacking an outlet through which to express themselves.

"Mariano and I, we have eclectic taste," says Nickodemus in a shy, gentle voice. "We had been doing these one-offs all over the place and eventually we sort of found 'our thing'--you know, there were a bunch of people who were coming out just to hear us every time, so we figured we should just do our own party. The success of that first summer is what helped us to start the Rhythmlove label."

The irony in the success of the Turntables series is that Nickodemus and Mariano don't play what would be considered typically accessible music. There are no house or trance beats used to float the boat at the pier, only funky downtempo, broken beats, dub, and all other forms of imaginative and eclectic music. "Occasionally someone will throw on a house tune or two," Nickodemus admits coyly, "but it's cool because we don't really have to. People who come to our parties come knowing not to expect to hear conventional tunes."

And the success of the label in conjunction with the success of the parties has opened Nickodemus and Mariano up to a whole world of possibilities. The success of their Turntables on the Hudson CD series has helped get their sound out across the ocean and as a result they have made strong ties in the "eclectic downtempo" communities in France and Vienna. They are currently gathering material for the fourth compilation in the CD series, which they will release in June of next year after the launch the new season on the boat.

Nickodemus plays at Therapy at Jello tonight, Thursday, Dec. 6, 10pm, $8