WORK presents: Kevin Saunderson, Mesmé, D. Zeledon b2b Eddie Portillo.

His influence runs deep, through both adopted hometown of Detroit, and music culture as a whole: as one of the Belleville Three, the high school trio which also includes Juan Atkins and Derrick May, he irreparably changed the face of electronic music; with Inner City, he gave it some of its most memorable tunes. Saunderson’s comparatively late start as a producer – kicking off in ’87 under the moniker of Kreem, with E-Dancer and Reese two of the more well-known names to follow – inadvertently gifted him a headstart. With the eruption of house music a few hours down the I-94 in Chicago, Saunderson married Detroit’s raw sound to more tactile, pop-leaning sensibilities. Inner City was born, and global success followed.

Vinyl-heavy blends of stripped-down atmospheric house and techno with acid, breakbeat, trip-hop, and electro influences. Resident at Into The Woods LA, curator at Misfit. Hiding somewhere beneath the shadows and neon lights of Angel City is the elusive protagonist, Mesmé. A lover of the gramophone, dusty books, rare art, and intricate musical machines, little else is known about our young heroine other than her vast collection of records and her affiliation with several high-profile underground organizations. Restless Nites and Into The Woods both call her one of their own, and rumor has it that she runs a secret collective known only by the code name, MISFIT. Sightings include a selection of the city’s record stores, libraries, and speakeasies, and she has reportedly been seen entering and leaving pitch-black warehouses late at night with a large, black leather suitcase. Little is known about her origins, but word has it that she escaped a religious coven and sought refuge in an unknown Asian state, before finding her true home in the dazzling metropolis of Angel City.