Results tagged “techno”

Magda -- the Polish-born, US-raised, Berlin-residing DJ -- is techno's sweetheart. Tapped for the top by techno titan Richie Hawtin, she now headlines clubs and festivals across six continents. It's for good party-moving reason too. She brings it. On Sunday, at the world-famous rooftop of Downtown LA's The Standard hotel, Magda spins alongside M_NUS labelmate Troy Pierce. Joining them for the 1 p.m. - 10 p.m. shindig are Droog (Justin Sloe, Brett Griffin and Andrei Osyka,) Kenneth J. Gibson, and Clovis.

Saturday marks five years of Avaland, the signature clubnight of historical nightspot, Avalon. This space has been a hotbed for music since 1927, and become a big player in global DJ culture this decade. Each Saturday night (and Sunday morning,) superjocks from the worlds of techno and house make good use of the venue's hard-to-get afterhours license. Booka Shade, Tiefschwarz, Sander Kleinenberg, and Steve Angello are all regulars. No wonder the UK's DJ Mag named it 40th in world’s best clubs. Saturday features techno-posterboy Steve Bug, as well as Adultnapper, Dan Berkson and James What, plus Avaland residents Droog. Doors open at 10 p.m. and shut at 8 a.m. Wow.

                     

As the summer emerges from June Gloom, sure, the clubs were still hopping. But above that, June saw the largest electronic dance music event in LA's history, the Electric Daisy Carnival. The 13th annual megamegarave featured 135,000 revelers over two days (daze?) If were weren't in a recession there might have been 135,007 attendees. It was Coachella meets Burning Man meets a sweaty warehouse meets a USC football game. That's a good thing.

Taking place this Friday and Saturday is the Electric Daisy Carnival, a mega-rave on steroids, or "EDC" if you're in-the-know. USC's football team has been kind enough to take the day off and provide the Coliseum for the bash's main sage, the Kinetic Field. The rest of the stages will be spread around the Exposition Park grounds. A map of the grounds can be found on the EDC website. Remember kiddies, drink lots and lots of water and stay away from the brown acid.

James Zabiela’s first visit to Los Angeles in 2002 was intense. Trotting the globe with one of its most in-demand DJs, his job was to make 2,000 Sasha fans loose their minds. Thanks to the 21 year-old Zabiela, that’s exactly what happened at the sold-out Mayan Theater.

Insomniac's events have made people dance through their bedtimes since 1993. Never have they made insomniacs out of 100,000. That’s the goal for this year’s Electric Daisy Carnival, their largest annual event. Seas of people will dance away their economic woes in what should be the largest electronic dance music festival this city has ever seen.

“Martin Landsky is a true jack of all trades,” said Droog’s Andrei Osyka, of the globetrotting DJ/producer/remixer from Berlin. “His music’s equally inspired by deep house and techno, as well as wedded to the timeless and of-the-moment.”

Top techno night Compression features a double-bill of headliners this Friday at King King in Hollywood. DJing alongside New York’s Francois K will be Los Angeles legend John Tejada. They're two DJ/producers who have walked very different paths to global dance music stardom.

              

Thanks to New Year's hangovers, clubland in January can be sluggish. However, brave weekend warriors can still be found under the disco ball. They know the only way to fight 2008 hangovers is to dance them off in 2009. Nightlife photographer Drew “Rukes” Ressler (we interviewed him last month) was there to catch this nocturnal revelry.

              

When globetrotting electronic dance music DJs come to town the energy is rock-show thick. The tough, loud music. The sparkling visuals along side layers of multicolored flashing lights. The rabid crowd. These elements unite, and fans are delivered something special. Drew “Rukes” Ressler’s job is to capture that nocturnal magic.

Making a living in dance music is supposed to be tough. Apparently Vermont-born, LA-based Morgan Page never heard that one. His moving melodies have stood atop both Billboard's Club Play Chart (a bunch of times,) and iTunes' Dance Chart. The 20something has also done remixes for big guns like Nelly Furtado and Stevie Nicks. If you've not yet heard this scruffy-faced Vermonster, you've probably seen him in traffic. Page is featured on LA city buses as part of KCRW's latest string of ads.

Late-night techno trio Droog (Andrei, Brett and Justin) can be found at Avalon Hollywood where they hold it down Saturdays as well as at their various parties around town. Earlier this year they were the highlight of Beatportal’s LA Claims USA's Dance Music Crown.

Moby at Electric Daisy Carnival 2008 | Photo by Drew "Rukes" Ressler/Used with Permission

The LA Phil's richly-curated Concrete Frequency festival is capping two weeks of events with a special show featuring Cornelius and Plaid tomorrow night at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

It should be quite apparent by now that electronic music has officially made a comeback in LA in the past couple years, if not more recently than that. While supergroups such as Daft Punk and the Chemical Brothers have maintained a steady stronghold on the genre since their inception, it would be easy to argue that electronic music never left. However, being an electronic music fan in Los Angeles seems to be slightly different...

There is pretty much nothing that I love more than great electronic music. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't ever get into electronic music because it is something that you really have to seek out, because like any other type of music, most of it sucks. Add to that the fact that there is a very limited radio audience, only a handful of credible domestic labels, and very little marketing associated with the good...

If you ever see John Tejada perform, you know he's a kickback relaxed guy. If the way he dresses is any indicator, you know he's in it for the love the music and the art and not for the rock star lifestyle and attitude. Perhaps his humbleness is one of the main reasons he's risen to be one of the art form's best. Birthed in Vienna by two classically trained parents (his father, a composer...