Body Language cures hump-day boredom, promoter Nic Ortiz y Pino said about the event.
Reverend Mitton and Justin O'Brien heat up the Blackbird Buvette with their funky house music at 9:30 p.m. every other Wednesday.
"Body Language is about house music," Mitton said. "Soulful and jazzy stuff that really gets you going."
DJs Mitton and O'Brien have known each other for 12 years but formed Body Language only one year ago.
Ortiz y Pino said he first heard their music by dancing to it. He then formed a relationship with the DJs.
"As soon as we got word from the Blackbird that they wanted to do something with us, everything came together," Ortiz y Pino said.
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Mitton said much of his early musical work took place in raves and after-hours events.
"As we got older and our crowd got older, we moved more into the bars," he said. "I used to be a resident at Blu and Pulse."
Since Club 7 closed, they play at venues where listeners don't have to worry about their safety.
"After the Club 7 raid, it forced us to make it more legitimate and take it to a bar," Ortiz y Pino said. "And it forced a lot of other people to do it more dangerously, like in an underground setting. Body Language was about providing a safe environment for people who enjoy the music."
But playing house music at Blackbird doesn't pay the bills, so they have daytime jobs, O'Brien said.
"I would never want this to be my job," Mitton said. "What we do and the reason I do it is kind of personal therapy for my brain. It keeps me sane through all the other stuff, and it's basically the form of expression I have chosen."
Mitton said the group has been trying to reach more UNM students.
"Body Language is a 21-and-over event, so that kind of limits who can come," Ortiz y Pino said. "We're trying to find people who like to dance and who like free music. It's about hooking people who haven't heard good house music."
O'Brien said Ortiz y Pino helped them reach a younger crowd.
"We want people with open minds who like funky music of any kind," O'Brien said. "When you walk in there, there's not really anyone who looks bored, and it's always a party."
O'Brien and Mitton held a charity event with S.A.F.E. House New Mexico, a group that provides shelter for abused women and children. They performed at the event to give back to the community.
"We collected donations, and there was a huge list of materials people could bring, such as old cell phones, clothes, hair dryers, etc.," Ortiz y Pino said. "And it's free, so it's not like they got a discount for it, but we would hand them a CD every time they would give us something."
By the end of the night, they collected eight trash bags full of donations.
"It could have made a difference for these women in a lot of ways," Ortiz y Pino said.
Body Language
Wednesday, 9:30 p.m.
Blackbird Buvette
509 Central Avenue N.W.
21+, Free
