View from the DJ booth in the new wave/darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on 12/20/25
I’m writing this on Sunday morning and the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, so IDK what to say except that last night at Klub Nocturno was a vibe. I DJed alongside Milagro in new wave/darkwave room. Played a few of my favorite tunes from this year, like “Women Respond to Bass” by Sextile, “Catch and Release” from Alice Glass, Pixel Grip’s “Reason to Stay” and “Everything We Thought We Knew” by N8NOFACE. People danced. Good times were had. Anyhow, set list is below. The newer songs (past year or so) are in bold and link to other mentions here on the blog. Wishing you all happy holidays!
Last week, Ultra Sunn released The Beast in You. While the Belgian duo’s sophomore album isn’t quite a departure from previous club hits like “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” and “Broken Monsters,” or last year’s debut full-length, US, it shows some welcome growth from the EBM outfit.
Heavily influenced by European dance music of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ultra Sunn excels at songs that bridge the old and the new. It’s no wonder that they’ve been one of the most requested artists I’ve seen while DJing. Most of their songs are around 124 or 125 BPM, which is solidly mid-tempo when you’re DJing a darkwave night, and they fit perfectly in between Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb classics and more recent bangers from Boy Harsher and Sextile. This kind of consistency makes Ultra Sunn songs ideal for club play, but it’s also what makes them less interesting for at home listening. That’s very common amongst artists who work in hyper-specific niches of dance music, but, nonetheless, I can’t help wondering what it would sound like if Ultra Sunn stepped outside of the comfort zone.
The only time I’ve seen Fever Ray live was at Coachella in 2010 and, even then, I only caught part of their set sometime on the first night of the festival after I had already decided that I was over Coachella and the only thing that might ever get me back is The Smiths reunion that I estimated would be announced the day after hell freezes over. All that said, I don’t really have a true concert experience to compare to The Year of the Radical Romantics, the new, live-ish album from Fever Ray, but that’s probably for the best.
Black and white view from the DJ booth in the new wave vs. darkwave room. (Pic: Liz O.)
It was She Past Away Night in the New Wave vs. Darkwave room at Nocturno last night, so, if you were there, you heard a lot of them throughout the night. But, also, French Police’s new song, “Sugar Killer,” made it into the set early. It did pretty well for 10 p.m., so you’ll probably hear it again. “Nonstop Romance,” the title track from Mareux’s new album, was first played in the new wave vs. darkwave room at the last Nocturno party and, since it did well earlier in the night, I dropped it somewhere around 11:30 p.m. this time around and it did really well. “Reason to Stay” from Pixel Grip is a middle-of-the-night song now, which is good to see. “Wrong Floor” by Ultra Sunn, which someone requested last month, stuck around this month. I like that one a lot. And “Women Respond to Bass” from Sextile is basically this year’s summer song. I think that’s it for the new music from last night.
Overall, it was a fantastic night and the crowd was great, as well. Someone made two requests that were in the BPM ranges I was playing in, which never happens. I asked, “Are you a DJ?” No. “Are you a drummer?” No. Anyhow, it’s an impressive skill and it means that those requests landed in the set immediately instead of whenever I was able to raise the tempo or slow it down enough to fit the song into the set.
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.
Pixel Grip’s third album, Percepticide: The Death of Reality is out now.
Chicago-based trio Pixel Grip released their third album, Percepticide: The Death of Reality on June 12. Three years in the making, Percepticide is also the band’s first fully independent release and the end result is a collection of a dozen songs that are rooted in the clubs, but defy expectations of what one might consider club music. It’s as punk as it is pop, as raw as it is slick and as menacing as it is euphoric.
View from the DJ booth in the New Wave vs. Darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on April 11, 2025 (Pic: Liz O.)
Last night was Klub Nocturno at Catch One, where I was the DJ in the new wave vs. darkwave room from open to close. The theme was Boy Harsher Night and a lot of their songs made it into the set alongside bands like Lebanon Hanover, Twin Tribes, French Police, Glass Spells, plus the new wave bangers and lots, lots more. Thanks to Nocturno for having me play and to everyone who made it out to the club last night. Set list is below.
In early February, in a small L.A. venue called Love Song, Taleen Kali debuted her EP, Covered, a few days before its Valentine’s Day release. Every detail reflected the holiday theme. The EP, which includes versions of songs like “Ava Adore” and “#1 Crush,” was available on heart-shaped flashdrives at a merch booth decorated with cupids. The listening party was followed by a live set where Taleen Kali, the person, morphed into Taleen Kali, the band, as more and more musicians joined the singer/guitarist on stage for a set that included live rarities and music from Covered.
It was a killer night, and I’m not just saying that because I happened to be the DJ for the show or because Taleen and I have been pals for a few years. I mean, it was a very well-planned and well-executed show.
So, the reason I decided to scale back on posting events here is because I’m back at writing up listings for Discover Los Angeles and I don’t like to repeat myself. You can click here to see recommendations for the week of April 7 through April 13. The one event on the list that is most relevant to the roundups I write here is the Turntable Trio event at 2220 Arts + Archives on Monday, April 7. It a next-level DJ performance event with a super reasonable cover charge at a venue that I like a lot.
I won’t be DJing this weekend, which is probably a good thing on account of having a feature story that I have to finish for next week. (My next gig, if you’re wondering, is at Nocturno on April 11.) If you’re looking for a dance night, head to Underground on Friday at the Grand Star. Larry G. has all the indie, new wave and post-punk jams ready for you. Here are more recommendations for this weekend.
