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Industrial goth maven Nika Danilova has been making dark art pop under the moniker Zola Jesus for nearly a decade. The Wisconsin-bred musician, known for making atmospheric, abrasive orchestral sounds, took a break from working on some new collaborations in Los Angeles to chat with us about her favorite local hangs, where to start your dive into Neo-classical listening and why rusted sheet metal can be your best friend in the booth.

“BreakBeat Lou” Flores has been a student of sound since he was three years old. The legendary Bronx-born DJ, B-Boy and hip hop pioneer — whose modus operandi could be summed up by the line, “If it’s funky, it’s funky” — cut his sonic teeth in the early 70s in New York City, where he says “there was no better recipe” for hip hop to happen. Here he chats with longtime Ace friend and fellow New York mainstay Justin Strauss for this edition of Just/Talk about the octopoidal nature of being a DJ, soaking records in bathtubs to hide their labels from rival music crews and the first record he ever bought.

On July 7, 2018, Ace Hotel New Orleans hosted the inimitable Damon Young and Panama Jackson of Very Smart Brothas at the third annual Essentials, a series that Ace hosts concurrent with Essence Festival in New Orleans.

Matty Matheson is a chef. He’s famous and beloved for his no-holds-barred, sailor-mouthed, mustachioed personality. Also because his food is really, really delicious.