Provocateur has become one of, if not the, most exclusive nightlife spots in New York City for house music. Mike Statsky and Brian Gefter, of Lily Pond and Stereo, created one of the most unique venues in downtown New York to suit an upscale yet diverse clientele.The cafe is known to play indie rock and more relaxed electronic music early in the night before guests head over to the high energy club where top DJs such as Steve Angello and Laidback Luke have graced the booth. What makes Provocateur such a special venue is the intimacy of the shows. At much larger venues such as Roseland Ballroom or even Lavo, the space is often full to the brim and guests are left pushing and shoving to get to the front of the DJ booth. At Provocateur, doorwomen Sheena and Ruby ensure that only those with table service or the select few that are deemed beautiful or sophisticated enough for entry are allowed in so that the space never seems packed or over crowded. Not only does this make for a more comfortable viewing experience but the layout of the club makes it so that every guest can be literally right in front of the performer of the night. However, in order to utilize the space to it’s capacity there has to be a certain type of DJ at Provocateur who is skilled at music selection and transitions but still provides enough energy for the club. For example, Steve Aoki’s performances may be better suited for larger concert venues since he is more about the production value than actual technical aspect of DJing. However, and artist such as Kaskade may be better suited for a more intimate venue as he still provides a good amount of energy while performing but is easily one of the most skilled DJs around in terms of technique. Especially with all the twitter controversy around Richie Hawtin’s announced performance at Provocateur last Friday, we got to thinking. Here are 5 DJs that we would love see perform at the venue who we think would be able to best use the space’s intimate atmosphere. Again, these are just some of our suggestions and feel free to put your input in the comments section below! [Photo via]

#1. Eric Prydz – Prydz has only recently began performing in America due to his feat of flying. He was the headliner of this year’s IDentity Festival and was certainly the main reason many people showed up to this year’s line up. He has created iconic hits such as “Call On Me”, his remix of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” and the more recent “Pjanoo”. After drawing huge crowds to Finale and Roseland Ballroom over Thanksgiving weekend, both much larger venues than Provocateur, we would love to see Eric Prydz perform in a much smaller setting which would allow him to experiment more with his deep house productions created by his “alter alias” Pryda. [Photo via]

#2. Moby – Richard Melville Hal, better known as Moby, is one of the more well known electronic artists around. While some of his music doesn’t necessarily fit the style of what is normally played of Provocateur, much like Richie Hawtin’s music, just being able to see one of the most influential electronic artists in such an intimate setting would be such an incredible experience. Also, as seen below in his set from Electric Zoo, Moby is able to play a wide array of electronic music during his performances. [Photo via]

#3. DubVision – Progressive House music is one of the staples of Provocateur. Named Axwell’s favorite duo of 2012 and featured in sets by Afrojack and Ferry Corsten, Dubvision has managed to create some of the most popular progressive house tracks of 2012 by combining catchy melodies with unforgettable vocals. Some of their more recent songs are “Committed to Sparkle Motion” and “All By Myself” which puts more modern twist on Moby’s original track. We haven’t heard a Dubvision song that we have not fallen in love with and they are certainly one of the more underrated house artists. [Photo via]

#4. Nico Jaar – We love the Cafe of Provocateur as much as we love the club. The space is perfectly designed down to the T (and by the T we mean the imported Silver Birch Trees). Elements like the custom tapestries, fur swings and a cocktail menu that is designed to help the skin’s aging process are all reasons that make Provocateur’s cafe one of the most thought out and well designed spaces in New York City. The cafe is certainly much more chill and down to Earth than the high octaine club right across the hall so naturally more downtempo music is usually what is played throughout the cafe. Nico Jaar would certainly be one of the more relaxed performances at Provocateur, especially since most of his tracks clock in at about 90 – 110 bpm, but we feel that his eclectic production style would fit the ambiance of the Cafe perfectly. [Photo via]

#5. Deniz Koyu – Quickly becoming popular after his two most known tracks Tung! and Bong, Deniz Koyu is probably one of our favorite DJs we have seen live. While Koyu may seem to have started his career only recently, he actually has been producing songs as early as 2007. After seeing him at The Estate, we wondered why Koyu has not had more performances in New York. He played a mix of his popular songs while also playing some of his more unknown songs and was always energetic behind the booth. Especially with recent approval from Tiesto, Dada Life and Fedde Le Grand, we’re sure Deniz Koyu will only become more popular in 2013. [Photo via]