Social Studies

Social Studies Social Studies has been a staple of the Boston dance music scene for 11 years.

We’re not into deciding something’s “the best,” but we were compelled to share the creations we discovered and moments w...
01/09/2026

We’re not into deciding something’s “the best,” but we were compelled to share the creations we discovered and moments we experiencd around dance music and culture that inspired us more than most, in a year when we really needed the light. We appreciate everyone who brought these pieces of art into our lives. We hope you’ll discover something you love, and maybe in the process discover a bit about who we are. Swipe through for more.

1. x New Years Day Ball
2. Stray: An Autobiography Of With Laurie Owens
3. THING: Issues 1–10, 1989–1993 ()
4. An All-Vinyl Evening with (, 03.07.25)
5. by , , and (Herbert Von King Park, Bed-Stuy, 06.08.25)
6. (ft. ), Phantom Vibrations (.records)
7. DJ Set, .bos (Jacques Underground 08.30.25)
8. at , This Side Set Recording
9. Interview, no. 27
10. - separate from the noise (new century sound)

Few know as much about music as Durkin does—join us for a fun night with the Fool’s Gold Records producer and truly incr...
10/15/2025

Few know as much about music as Durkin does—join us for a fun night with the Fool’s Gold Records producer and truly incredible DJ. A legend of Boston nightlife, there isn’t a club or party he hasn’t touched or a sound he hasn’t spun. He’s produced tracks for Michael Christmas and Latrell James and collaborated frequently with Black EL and Maka 3.0, the latter with whom he has two acclaimed EPs. His own project—and way of life—Live a Little, encourages us to enjoy life, have more fun, and listen to good music. Let him teach us how on Friday, October 24th.

Dance-y Free Fun! .club

NEXT SATURDAY PORCHFEST IS BACK!!!
08/09/2025

NEXT SATURDAY PORCHFEST IS BACK!!!

NEW MIX:  made one especially for all of us in advance of the party on Friday, and, it’s incredible. Maybe too incredibl...
04/24/2025

NEW MIX: made one especially for all of us in advance of the party on Friday, and, it’s incredible. Maybe too incredible, like it belongs on a splashier platform. We are so grateful 🥲

gbd is meticulous in crafting mixes so we shouldn’t be surprised. This one opens you to their sound before they tear down the dance floor Friday late night. We tried to note how many turns it surprised us at, and we lost count. Minimal moments become multilayered masterpieces. Emotional high points stick soft landings. It is succinct and powerful.

We hope it gets you through your day. And we hope to see you on Friday!! Mix and reduced 🎟️ in bio.

We are back at Lower Level with a guest we have enormous and longstanding admiration for—for their skill, range, and exp...
04/09/2025

We are back at Lower Level with a guest we have enormous and longstanding admiration for—for their skill, range, and experience, and for the balance of introspection and audience awareness in their work. We are such big fans, we are welcoming (fka Savile) back for a second time, something we rarely do—the first was a rousing party at Good Life in 2019. Their sound, process, and spirituality are ever-evolving; meanwhile, their reverence for the roots of dance music and their respect for political context reflect in their innovations. It’s time to reintroduce gbd.

gbd landed in Brooklyn by way of Chicago, where they came up as a resident at smartbar with a mentor in Derrick Carter, and released on labels such as 2MR, Argot, and Stripped & Chewed. Tracking the Public Records resident’s evolution can mean looking back as far as when they were 11 years old in rural Michigan, tinkering with hip-hop beats and learning to DJ on turntables. It can mean reliving a Sonic Messengers party, their celebration of house music with AceMo and YunieMo, plus other live vocalists and instrumentalists. Or it can mean reviewing just the last few years, during which they’ve come into themselves more deeply and authentically than ever before.

Their years of experience allow for daring experimentation. They excel at creating contrasts in their sets—challenging, prickly sounds are leveled by dreamy breakdowns and sweet melodies—and they perform a masterclass in tempo-switching. There’s tactility to their music—it can feel hot and sticky, fluid and cooling. Slinky R&B, trap, or dub lift you from your surroundings, and then a sudden injection of DnB or a banging vocal house track breaks your meditation. gbd’s mission is to serve the dancer, and the crowds react boisterously to a surprising burst of percussion or a shuffling juxtaposition of sounds.

Also a texture weaver, will be supporting gbd, and we can’t think of a better fit. Sal is co-creator of the dub techno party Minor Rituals, and one of our most trusted DJs.

Capture this moment in gbd’s time on Friday 4/25. Some early-early 🐦 🎟️ available in bio 🏃

📝: 🎨: .by.alfredo
📸:

03/06/2025

Tomorrow we celebrate Good Music, from the mind and crates of . All vinyl, all good. Join us for this special party!

Reduced 🎟️ available in bio ahead of the event on Friday.

We are honored to present one of today’s greatest American DJs and musicians, SHIGETO, for an all-vinyl DJ set thanks to...
02/25/2025

We are honored to present one of today’s greatest American DJs and musicians, SHIGETO, for an all-vinyl DJ set thanks to the support of Chemist Cocktail Bar.

Early bird 🎟️ via Resident Advisor: https://ra.co/events/2106173

Born in Ann Arbor, Shigeto’s creation is inextricably linked to the music history of his now-home Detroit. A jazz drummer, producer, composer, and DJ, Shigeto uniquely layers hyperpercussive rhythms and warms them with rich melodies. That sound manifested in a very musical IDM–flavored electronica and hip-hop when he first became a Ghostly International artist in 2009, and it has snowballed into one that today captures house, techno, and all kinds of dance music with a soulful jazz backbone.

This evolution happened in lockstep with a growing focus on the talents surrounding him. The Hamtramck studio and home of Shigeto and his brother Kenjiro’s own label, Portage Garage Sounds, is a lively capsule of Detroit’s creativity today; a sort of artistic cooperative, PGS has released projects from locals like 2Lanes, Tammy Lakkis, and Black Noi$e. Shigeto’s new LP Cherry Blossom Baby (Ghostly) is powered by his band of profoundly-talented-in-their-own-right local friends and lots of sound-enhancing featured artists.

What does all this mean for his DJing? An incredibly broad strokes palette of vinyl talents, drawing from Detroit’s analog and electronic sounds—and certainly with a dancefloor in mind. His work as an amplifier and his selflessness in creating swing the sounds from his turntables as much as they do his productions.

We further receive Shigeto’s commitment to the city’s community in his frequent collaborations with local legends from Dez Andrés to rapper ZelooperZ and on his WDET 101.9FM radio show The New Music Show, where he shares fresh new sounds and old sounds that feel fresh. And we’ll hear it in his selections on Friday, March 7th.

🎨: .by.alfredo
✏️:

🗓️ Save the dates! We’re getting through winter the only way we know how to—beautiful music blended by incredible people...
02/12/2025

🗓️ Save the dates! We’re getting through winter the only way we know how to—beautiful music blended by incredible people.

Fri 2.21 Mixer with (the Chemist)
Fri 3.7 Social Studies & the Chemist present:
Fri. 3.21 Mixer with .mix & .levi (the Chemist)
Sat 4.05 TBA (Upstairs at Bow)
Fri 4.18 Mixer with (the Chemist)
Fri 4.25 Social Studies with , with support from (Lower Level)

!!!

🎨: .by.alfredo

Address

109 High St
Boston, MA
02110

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