Search results for: “mareux”

  • New Music from Mareux and Ultra Sunn + More of What You Heard in the New Wave vs. Darkwave Room at Nocturno on June 28, 2025

    Klub Nocturno new wave vs. darkwave room at Catch One in Los Angeles on June 28, 2025
    View from the DJ booth in the new wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on June 28, 2025 (Pic: Liz O.)

    At maybe a quarter after 2 a.m., when I was waiting for my ride home from Nocturno, I heard “Afuera” coming from somewhere outside of Catch One and looked up to see someone sitting on the bus stop across the street from the venue, playing a conga drum along with the Caifanes classic while a couple danced. It was a good vibe for the end of the night. 

    And the vibes inside were good too. I was in the DJ booth in the new wave vs. darkwave room all night. It was Boy Harsher night, although there were quite a few requests for Ultra Sunn. Shout out to whoever asked for “Wrong Floor,” which came out about a week ago and is fire. The response on the dance floor was great, so that will probably be sticking around in my sets. 

    I did get to play “Nonstop Romance” from Mareux’s new album of the same name and the response was good, so I think you will hear more of that too. I also played “Blackmail,” a cool instrumental from Nonstop Romance around the time we opened. “Reason to Stay” by Pixel Grip seemed to do better than it did when I first played it in May and Sextile’s “Women Respond to Bass,” which you also heard in May’s Nocturno set, is probably in the running for this summer’s banger. 

    Set list is below. As always, thanks for dancing!

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  • Mareux Forges a New Sound on Nonstop Romance

    Mareux Nonstop Romance album cover

    At DJ gigs, I always say that I don’t know what I’ll play until I play it and that’s absolutely true. I may have my heart set on playing one specific song, but, if it doesn’t sound like it’s going to vibe with the crowd, then I can’t play it. So, while I really don’t know which songs from Nonstop Romance, the latest album from Mareux, will end up in my sets, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it’s the title track. 

    “Nonstop Romance” has quickly become my favorite song on the album and I hope that its yours too. If you went to a club where the DJ played “Join in the Chant” and “Crazy Over You,” then came home and put that vibe into a song and gave it a 2020s spin, it might sound like this. (And, if this sounds like a plausible scenario to you, I’m going to guess you also live in L.A.) The juxtaposition of an EBM stomp and a very cheery synth melody is my idea of dance floor gold and I’ve listened to “Nonstop Romance” at least three times in a row while writing this.

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  • New Music From Mareux, Pixel Grip and Sextile + More of What You Heard at Nocturno on May 9, 2025

    Nocturno New wave vs darkwave room at Catch One in Los Angeles May 9, 2025 (photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    View from the DJ booth in the New Wave vs. Darkwave room at Nocturno on May 9, 2025 (Pic: Liz O.)

    There’s a lot of new music that came out in the past few weeks and a three of those songs made it into last night’s set in the new wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno. “Laugh Now Cry Later” from Mareux, which turned up really early in the set, is the lead single from his sophomore album, Nonstop Romance which is out in late June. Pixel Grip also has a new album, Percepticide: The Death of Reality, out in June. “Reason to Stay” is the new single from that album and it popped up  in the set somewhere in the 10 o’clock hour. I’m really into this song and the response was good, so you’ll probably be hearing it more often in my sets. 

    Last night’s big, new hit though was “Women Respond to Bass,” from Sextile, which came into the set shortly after midnight, mixed between Boy Harsher “Come Closer” and Vitalic’s electroclash-era jam “La Rock 01.” It did really well on the dance floor Friday night. Sextile’s latest album, Yes, Please, came out last week and it’s packed with bangers, so you’ll probably be hearing more from it in my sets this summer. 

    Set list is below. My next gig is The Smiths Nite at Club Underground on Friday, May 16, where I’ll be playing alongside Larry G. and Rose Knows. 

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  • The Beatique Mix 2/25 feat. Chromatics, FKA Twigs, Mareux, Optometry and More

    On Sunday night, when I was DJing at The Mermaid for Splash! I mixed together “Cherry” from Chromatics with “Drums of Death,” from FKA Twigs’ latest album, and Mareux’s songs “DTLA.” It was one of those impromptu things that I really liked and I made a mental note to keep that in mind for future sets. 

    The following morning, I woke up with the Dinner In America song still stuck in my head. I had to do something to get it out, so I pulled those three songs and built a set around it, opening and closing the set with two other frequent earworms. It did the trick, at least for now, and I liked it enough to post it for this month’s Beatique Mix. Also included in this set are Taleen Kali’s cover of My Bloody Valentine’s song “Cupid Come,” from her new EP, and “Bon Voyage,” from Optometry’s new album, Lemuria. Track list is below. Enjoy!

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  • Tomora, Fcukers and More of What You Heard at Underground 4/17/26

    Fcukers Ö album cover
    Cover for Ö by Fcukers

    Come Closer, the debut album from Tomora, was released on Friday and I’m already way into it. Tomora is Tom Rowlands from the Chemical Brothers and Norwegian singer Aurora and, if you’re into either/both of those artists, you have to hear it. Come Closer pulls a lot of different elements from across the club music spectrum and, in the process, becomes something so strange and cool and completely different from what’s been dominating dance music for the past five or so years. I went with “Somewhere Else,” the second single from the album, last night at Underground and it did pretty well for a first spin. There were more people on the dance floor when the song neared its end than when it began, so it will probably stick around in my sets. That ‘do do do” Aurora sings is such an earworm of the classic rave “It’s a Fine Day” variety. I love it. 

    Last night was Darkwave night at Underground, but I’ve been meaning to play something off Fcukers’ album, Ö, for a minute and I figured that “if you want to party, come over to my house” was electroclash-y enough to work with the crowd. Basically, if they were into Green Velvet— and they were— then they would get Fcukers. The song went over really well, which is a bit unsurprising given how much the resale price are for tickets to the duo at The Fonda. The whole album is killer. I’m impressed at how Fcukers basically fit the arc of a raging party into an album that’s less than a half-hour. 

    The set list for last night is below. Songs from 2025 and 2026 link back to other references on the blog. Thanks for dancing! 

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  • Darkwave Nite at Club Underground + More Happening This Weekend

    Darkwave Nite Club Underground Friday, April 17, 2026

    This Friday, April 17, is Darkwave Nite at Club Underground. Both rooms of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open with Larry G. playing indie Britpop and more in one room, while I’ll be spinning darkwave, synth, electro, post-punk, etc. in the other room. Will you dance to new Ladytron? Maybe some ADULT.? Sextile and Pixel Grip? Come down and find out. Advance tickets are available now.

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  • Klub Nocturno New Wave vs. Darkwave Setlist March 6, 2026

    Sam Quealy Jawbreaker album cover
    Cover for Jawbreaker by Sam Quealy. Get this album!

    Thanks to everyone who hit the dance floor in the new wave vs. darkwave room at Nocturno last night. Was very happy to see you dancing to “Londontown” by Sam Quealy. Wasn’t sure if I was going to play that or not last night, so I’m glad it went over well. Her album, Jawbreaker, is overloaded with bangers. Give it a listen when you have the chance. Lots of Depeche Mode in last night’s set, because that was the theme, plus new music from Night Ritualz, a few of last year’s club hits from the likes of Sextile, Pixel Girl, N8NOFACE, French Police and Alice Glass, lots of throwbacks from Soft Cell to Ladytron and more. Set list is below and, as always all songs from the past year link back to other references on this blog. 

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  • Sextile, Pixel Grip + More of What You Heard at Synthwaves 1/23/26

    Synthwaves Grand Star Jazz Club January 23, 2026
    View from the DJ booth at Synthwaves, 1/23/26

    Last night was Club Underground x Synthwaves at the Grand Star. I played the second half of the night in the Synthwaves room, upstairs. Crowd was great, as always. I was happy to get to work in some Italo disco at the end of the night and to close with “Cherry” by Chromatics, which I don’t play out all that often. For those of you who were there, thanks for dancing! Set list is below. New-ish stuff, basically 2025 releases, link back to other mentions here on Beatique. 

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  • Sextile “S Is For” + More of What You Heard at Klub Nocturno 1/09/26

    View from the DJ booth in the new wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on January 9, 2026 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    View from the DJ booth in the new wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on January 9, 2026 (Pic: Liz O.)

    Yes, Please by Sextile was my favorite album of 2025 because it has bangers for days. Last year, I mostly played “Women Respond to Bass” and “Rearrange,” although “Freak Eyes” and “Push Ups” have gotten some love too. Last night, for the first Klub Nocturno of 2026, I finally had the chance to play “S Is For,” which I love because it has such a early ‘00s electro punk vibe. Also, who doesn’t just want to shout out “shit” over and over again while raging on the dance floor right now? 

    Full set list is below and the new-ish releases link back to previous mentions on this here blog. As always, thanks for dancing! To keep up on when and where I’m playing next, either check back here or sign up for the newsletter or follow me on Instagram

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  • Everything You Heard Upstairs at Club Underground’s New Year’s Eve Party

    View from the stage upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club for Club Underground's New Year's Eve Party 2025/26 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    View from the stage upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club for Club Underground’s New Year’s Eve Party 2025/26 (Pic: Liz O.)

    Last night, my friend asked if I had a song for the new year. I didn’t. I thought about it, though, and answered Kneecap “H.O.O.D.,” more for the band than for the specific song. They’re the group I would consider the MVP of 2025, one that has had a lot of bullshit thrown their way just for speaking out against the genocide that so much of the world has watched transpire on their phones. Yet, they’ve stuck to their principles and refuse to be silenced. They’re the real deal in a time of fakers and I appreciate that so much. That’s the kind of energy we need this year. 

    Anyhow, I played upstairs at the Grand Star for Underground’s New Year’s Eve party. Super cool crowd. Thank you all for being there, especially on a rainy L.A. night. It was great to overhear someone in the crowd saying, “I love this song…it’s Confidence Man” when “Gossip” came on. Even better to hear from people who came up to the booth because you were excited to hear “Juicebox” or “¿Porqué te vas?” or some other song that I can’t recall right now. Hope to see more of all of you in 2026. Set list is below. The 2025 songs link to other mentions on this blog. 

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