If you’re a lesbian in New York nightlife, you’ve probably heard of Von, the multidisciplinary performance artist who makes electronic music using her own orgasm wave patterns. This week, she released her debut EP, 2.0 THE LEAK, a collection of five hard-hitting, slightly haunting, electronic tracks in collaboration with the likes of Suzi Wu, Estoc, and Ani Klang.

Photography by Eliza Jouin

The listening party at H0L0 met the high bar set by her previous performances, which have included elements like blood letting and a live ‘birthing’ scene in the past. If that’s confusing, it’s because Von sticks to her mantra, “never explained, only experienced,’ you kinda have to be there. At THE LEAK, guests were handed custom 2.0 dollar bills and asked to write their kink on them, bathroom cubicles were staged to live-screen explicit videos, while a play piercer, Rocky J, snaked needles through people’s backs in the corner. As the performance ensued, a tattoo artist diligently immortalized Von’s life-entry stamp on die-hard audience members who, when showing the tattoo in the future, will never have to pay to go to a Von show again. Executive producer Chloe Philips explains, “Each event has to be more iconic than the last, which keeps us from lingering in our comfort zones.” 

Photography by Eliza Jouin

Her cult following, predominantly a collection of New York’s hottest dykes as far as I can tell, know what they’re signing up for – even if to others it seems intense. Von shrugs, in a black mesh bodysuit and G-string, “You cultivate your taste, nurture and trust it. The people will come or they won’t, but when I do shows and make music, I trust that it will be true to me.” 

On the dance floor, visuals refracted around the room as projections were cast on ceiling-hung bed sheets. “The idea was to recreate a bedroom to reflect the space we shot the video in, it was a way to merge intimacy with the public,” said Anna Chandler, the show’s production designer. Friends lounged on the raised California King-sized bed that the DJ booth was built inside, dancing to the music while wrapped in duvets and pillows. “It’s like a giant sleepover for the party girls who just wanna get horizontal sometimes. #ClubBed,” giggles fellow electronic artist and DJ, Vyper. Between performing her EP and transitioning into her DJ set, Von turned to the crowd and announced she would take a shot with anyone who wanted to, before downing a vial of ‘holy water’ passed to her from the audience. “I throw these shows with my best friends and want to become friends with everyone else. There’s no siloed off VIP bullshit here.”

Photography by Eliza Jouin

In a landscape where people are increasingly afraid to let loose, especially from within the industry, Von has some advice: “People need more balls. Go to a show, be a fan! Being a 24/7 critic is lame. Say something’s cool not because the circle jerk of A&R boys said it was, but because you actually had fun.” As the night winded down, guests revealed each other’s 2.0-dollar-bill-kinks over the specialty cocktails, sponsored by Misguided Spirits and Dirty Virgin. Reflecting on the evening and her new EP’s unveiling to the world, Von tells V with a satisfied smile, “my queerness and music are inextricably linked. Being proud of one makes me more proud of the other.”

Photography by Eliza Jouin

Credits

Executive Producer – Chloe Philips

Creative Director / Production Designer – Anna Chandler

Art Director – Vivian Swift

Lead Scenic – Ruth Black

Styling – Joyce Esquenazi Mitrani

Set Dressers – Jimm Platto, Amanda Muszynski, Shawn Vicioso, and Andreas Khol