Category: The Playlist

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

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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April 18, 2026
New Kneecap, Ladytron + More of What You Heard Upstairs at Underground

Cover of “Fenian” by Kneecap, which came out on April 1, 2026

It was great to see people dancing to “Fenian,” the single from Kneecap that came out last week, upstairs at Club Underground last night. It’s such a killer song. Plus, it fit into the ‘90s Nite vibe. TBH, a lot of today’s dance music does.

I wasn’t in the theme room last night, so it was kind of anything-goes upstairs, but I did dig up some of my ‘90s to drop in the set. “Born Slippy,” “Halcyon and on and on” and “Papua New Guinea” are all songs that are pretty formative to my taste, as in I heard them when they were new and was like, “WTF is this?!” Also got in some early 2000s jams that I haven’t played in a minute, like “La La Land” from Green Velvet, which I used to play so often that I have multiple copies on vinyl with multiple remixes.

As for new tunes, “A Death in London” from Ladytron was also in the set. I really like the sax on that song and it sounds so good early in the night. It might end up becoming my go-to from the band’s latest album.

Anyhow, thanks for dancing at Underground last night. See you next week! Set list is below. Songs from the past year or so link back to other mentions on this blog. Also, three songs from last night are on this month’s Beatique mix, so give that a listen on Mixcloud when you have a chance.
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April 11, 2026
New Gelli Haha, Slayyyter and More of What You Heard Upstairs at Underground 3/27/26

Gelli Haha “Klouds Will Carry Me to Sleep” single cover by Daniela Buvat

I have to admit that it took me a minute to get into Gelli Haha. “Bounce House” kept coming up on my Instagram feed and I thought the song was fine, but not as interesting as the video. So, it wasn’t until a month or so ago that I sat down and listened to Switcheroo. What a fun album! There’s a song called “Piss Artist” that I love because it’s irreverent, like the early ‘00s club hits that only the people who were there still remember. And “Tiramisu,” which I can only describe as sounding like someone playing a tribute to ‘90s house live a DIY art-punk show, has been getting stuck in my head. But, I didn’t play either of those songs last night at Underground because Gelli Haha has a new single out, “Klouds Will Carry Me to Sleep,” and it’s super cute in a way that reminds of a cross between The Avalanches and The Go! Team. I played it early last night, mostly to see how it sounds in the room, but I think I’ll keep it on hand.

The other new release that I want to mention is Wor$t Girl in America by Slayyyter. I wasn’t expecting to like it, but, every now and then there’s a pop album with a bunch of hype surrounding it that doesn’t bore the crap out of me and this is one of those moments. It has the sleazy club sound that I love, where it sounds like your dancing on a beer-sticky floor under a ceiling that’s dripping sweat. I didn’t really know what to play off the album. “Yes Goddd” has a killer Gesaffelstein-ish beat, but it didn’t work with the rest of the set this week. Maybe next time. I ended up going with “Unknown Loverz,” which has a much lighter sound, at the last minute.

Anyhow, the set list is below. Songs from the past year or so link back to previous mentions on the blog.
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March 28, 2026
New Ladytron and More of What You Heard for Girl Power Nite at Club Underground

Cover of Paradise, the new album from Ladytron

Ladytron released a new album, Paradise, yesterday. I gave it a first listen on Bandcamp yesterday and knew immediately that I had to get it and had to play “I See Red” at Underground for Girl Power Nite. The whole album is fantastic. It’s also long and I’ve only listened through it one-and-a-half times at this point, so I don’t have much to say about it yet.

The other new song in last night’s set is “Strings of Terror” by Sam Quealy, who you really need to hear if your taste in music is dance pop-meets-clubby performance art. Stacey Q-meets-Chicks on Speed is the comparison I used in my review. Anyhow, you can also hear “Strings of Terror” on this month’s Beatique mix.

Set list is below. Songs from the past year or so link back to other references on the blog.
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March 21, 2026
Klub Nocturno New Wave vs. Darkwave Setlist March 6, 2026

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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March 7, 2026
What You Heard Downstairs at Underground’s Smiths x Joy Division Night

Last night was The Smiths x Joy Division Night at Club Underground. It was also the release of Gorillaz new album, The Mountain, which features multiple contributions from my all-time favorite guitarist, Johnny Marr, so I kicked off the open-to-close set downstairs with “Casablanca,” from Gorillaz, featuring Mr. Marr and bassist/dapper punk Paul Simonon.

“How Soon Is Now?” was going to be the last song, but I underestimated how long it is. Then “Unloveable” was going to be the last song, but I could totally squeeze in “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” after that because it’s only two minutes, so that was going to be the last song. Then the crowd asked for one more, so you got a bonus track, “Morrissey” by Robbie Williams. It’s on his new album, Britpop. Totally in theme. Anyhow, set list is below. Songs from the past year or so link back to previous mentions on the blog.
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February 28, 2026
What You Heard Upstairs at Underground for Gorillaz x Daft Punk Night

“The Happy Dictator” is the first single from The Mountain, by Gorillaz, out on February 27, 2026

I am really excited for The Mountain, the new album from Gorillaz that’s due at the end of month. Three of the album’s already-released singles made it into my Gorillaz x Daft Punk set upstairs at Club Underground last night. The set list is below and, as always, songs from the past year or so are highlighted and link back to the artist’s tag on this blog. Thanks for dancing!
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February 7, 2026
A Gorillaz Earworm + More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 1/30/26

“The Happy Dictator” is the first single from The Mountain, by Gorillaz, out on February 27, 2026

“The Happy Dictator” is an earworm. On the few occasions that I’ve been able to play the Gorillaz song at a club, I’ve woken up the following day with it stuck in my head. This morning is no different. I played it early at Underground last night and now it’s lodged in my brain, with Damon Albarn and Russell Mael trading off vocals on a loop.

I don’t plan sets at all. I just drop 24+ hours of music on my laptop, sort it by BPM and then figure it all out as the night goes on. So, it’s only in hindsight that I can say that last night’s set at Underground was probably influenced by being at the anti-ICE protest/march in downtown Los Angeles earlier in the day. “The Happy Dictator,” “Police on My Back,” (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,” “Shout to the Top,” “Tubthumping,” blah blah blah. Whatever is stuck in my head makes it into the set and then the set gets stuck in my head. That’s a DJ brain for you.

Anyhow, thanks to those of you who made it out to Underground last night. It was a blast as always. See you next Friday for Gorillaz x Daft Punk night! Set list is below. New-ish songs link back to previous mentions here.
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January 31, 2026
Chromatics, Chumbawamba + More of What You Heard at Club Underground 1/16/26

View from the DJ booth (Pic: Liz O.)

Played the second half of the night in the Underground room for Club Underground x Synthwaves last night. Fantastic crowd, as always. Got in a nod to David Lynch with a remix of Chromatics’ song “Shadow.” Didn’t play anything extremely new, but did get in some of last year’s faves, like Sextile “Rearrange” and Confidence Man and Jade “Gossip.” Dropped in “Tubthumping” near the end for a reason. Heed the wisdom of Chumbawamba, friends. Set list is below. New-ish stuff links back to other mentions on this blog.
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January 17, 2026
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 (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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January 10, 2026