Domingo Castillo's Duets at Dimensions Variable Was a Friends-Only Karaoke Party

Courtesy of Domingo Castillo

​Do you know Domingo Castillo? If so, then you probably checked out his recent exhibition Duets at Dimensions Variable in the Design District. If you don't know him, you might have ended up outside of the gallery, alone, banging to get inside, experiencing the true art of the whole affair.

Castillo set up a makeshift karaoke bar in the space. But only friends (plus one guest) were invited. The other rule inside DV: Participants could only sing duets. The whole experiment unfolded neatly at times and messily at others.

While we all speculated that Castillo was just causing interpersonal drama among his friends, he saw the endeavor a little differently. So Crossfade called him to clarify the intent of the project and discuss his favorite karaoke songs. You may be surprised by what he chose.

Crossfade: What's your favorite duet to sing?
Castillo: With a man or a woman?

Both.
With a man, "Blame It on the Rain." With a woman, "Picture."

It is the best karaoke song. Did your opinion of your favorite karaoke songs change after Duets?
My opinion on how I can sing them did.

You learned new ways of interpreting new songs?
Totally.



Do you feel like you're a better singer or performer now?
I'm a better singer and I want to end up at an airport lounge bar in the near future. I have to memorize some songs and then fly.

What were the craziest performances you saw here? Can you name two or three?
The little kids, this band called Sugar sung ABBA. The most amazing rendition ever performed in the history of mankind.

How old were they?
Seven and nine. And then there was another one: Lucas [Leyva of Borscht Film Festival] and [artist] Naomi [Fisher] sung "Niggas in Paris" for two and a half hours straight. Thirty-three times. They wanted to jack the throne. They did.

We should make this available and hashtag the fuck out of it, so that Kanye and Jay-Z see it. They see this, they're going to feel humiliated. We had an audience of, like, seven that stayed here the whole time.