Los Angeles has an abundant amount of local DJs and producers, many toiling away in obscurity, here are some of our favorites:
Droog
The trio of Andrei Osyka, Brett Griffin and Justin Sloe are at the forefront of the Los Angeles scene with a hot label (Culprit) and a slew of gigs together and separately, not to mention their ownCulprit Sessions.
www.facebook.com/DroogLA
Raiz
The brotherly duo of Vangelis and Vidal Vargas formerly known asAcid Circus are also founders of Droid Behavior.
www.facebook.com/raizdroid
Drumcell
The other founder of Droid Behavior and gear guru Moe EspinosaAKA Drumcell is known throughout the world for his tough techno sound.
www.facebook.com/pages/drumcell
Android Cartel
A prolific big room duo with a ton of big name releases and gigs under their belt and responsible for two labels – Sketchbook and Riff Raff.
www.androidcartel.com
John Tejada
Every time people forget about L.A’s techno legend, John Tejada, he pops up with a genius new album, like his latest for Kompakt – Parabolas.
www.facebook.com/pages/John-Tejada
Kenneth James Gibson
Kenneth works under his own name, as [a]pendics.shuffle, and in the band Bell Gardens. The low key talent is gifted in the studio and a treasure trove of influences.
www.worldofkennethjamesgibson.com
The must visit clubs during any stay in Los Angeles are as follows:
Avalon Hollywood
Located on Hollywood & Vine, the center of the glamorous old Hollywood of yesteryear. Avalon, like many venues in SoCal, is a large hall meant to accommodate mid-level alternative rock and pop acts such as Nine Inch Nails and the Beastie Boys. A recent scan of the calendar shows a stready stream of tired old progressive has-beens with the occasional support billing from a local act such as Android Cartel.
www.avalonhollywood.com
The Music Box
Also located in the heart of Hollywood like the Avalon, The Music Box features mostly indie electronica artists such as 12th Planet, James Blake, and a whole lot of pop and rock artists with few dance music artists outside the realm of the Swedish House Mafia.
www.themusicbox.la
Vanguard
Vanguard is also in Hollywood and features a Funktion One sound system and Miami-style patio. The focus here is good old fashion house music from cats like Murk, Mark Farina, and Marques Wyatt.
www.vanguardla.com
King King Club
King King was once located on Pico Blvd on the West Side and featured roots rock andAmericana acts but, again, like so many others, chose to make the move to Hollywood and a more diverse roster of talent. King King features a cutting edge selection of talent from every genre in the electronic music pantheon.
www.kingkinghollywood.com
Playhouse
Playhouse in Hollywood also features a more commercially friendly roster of DJs from Dan to 16 Bit Lolitas.
www.playhousehollywood.com
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The real action is at the various events around the city, here are ones we like:
Droid Behavior
The long running underground techno crew comprised of Raiz, Drumcell, and Audio Injectionbrings the grimy, underground sounds of Berlin to Los Angeles and have developed a huge international following. These guys are at the heart of scene in SoCal.
www.droidbehavior.com
Culprit Sessions
The popular Droog trio play just about everywhere in a city that doesn’t normally respect the local talent. Their Culprit Sessions are held on the Standard Hotel rooftop and offer some of the best music Los Angeles has to offer from Tiefschwarz to Seth Troxler.
www.facebook.com/CulpritLA
BASK
BASK, along with HEAR, Damaged Goods, and the boat party Overboard are all the property ofHarmonic Productions. There is a definite focus on touring techno artists at these events fromMobilee to Jennifer Cardini.
www.myspace.com/beharmonic
Incognito
Incognito happens the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month at King King and Homegrown is the 2ndand 4th Fridays at the Burgundy House. They also feature the world’s top techno touring artists.
www.iluvincognito.com
Sublevel
Longtime veteran Doc Martin‘s Sublevel continues to focus on quality house music often featuring Martin along with veterans like Marques Wyatt and DJ Heather.
www.sublevelcalifornia.com
Superfreq LA
Mr. C‘s Superfreq LA party bounces around a few locations but brings in some of the finest talent in the world to the city.
www.facebook.com/superfreqla
