Tag Archives: Italo Disco

Interview

‘Intergalactic Dance’ Diva Ora the Molecule Has a Message for the Dance Floor

Ora the Molecule Nora Schjelderup press photo by Jonathan Kvien
Ora the Molecule Photo: Jonathan Kvien

It’s early, at least by club standards, on a Thursday night in mid-May, but the dance floor at El Cid is poppin’. On stage, Ora the Molecule flits between the synthesizer that sits on a table cloaked in glittery fabric and a theremin off to the side of her. When she looks down at the synthesizer, beams of light shoot from her disco ball helmet towards the crowd. Dressed in a red jumpsuit with matching gloves and boots, Ora the Molecule looks like a space disco diva who has just arrived on Earth. Few, if any, people in the crowd can resist her intergalactic groove. 

When Nora Schjelderup, the singer and producer behind Ora the Molecule, and I connect for a video call a couple weeks later, I tell her that the show reminded me of sci-fi disco performances from 1970s European variety shows that I’ve seen floating around online.

“Yes!” she responds through laughter. “That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.”

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New Music

Swedish Duo Sally Shapiro Returns with New Album Ready to Live a Lie

Sally Shapiro Ready to Live a Lie album cover

In 2023, Sally Shapiro released a gorgeous cover of the Pet Shop Boys song “Rent.” I came across the song a few months after its release and it quickly became a favorite. It turned up in a lot of my DJ sets beginning in early ’24 and people would often ask, “Who does this cover?” I’m mentioning this now because Sally Shapiro just released their fifth full-length album, Ready to Live a Lie. Yes, “Rent” is on it, but so are ten equally compelling songs. 

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Beatique Mix

Beatique Mix May 2025 Feat. Ora the Molecule, Sally Shapiro, Sextile, Confidence Man and More

Ora the Molecule live at El Cid in Silver Lake on May 15, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Ora the Molecule live at El Cid in Silver Lake on May 15, 2025 was an inspiration for the first half of this set. (Pic: Liz O.)

Earlier this month, I caught Ora the Molecule play at El Cid in Silver Lake. It was such a fun show. The crowd grooved throughout the duration of her set and, by the end, had formed a conga line that snaked around the small dance floor. Ora the Molecule is Norwegian DJ Nora Schielderup’s Italo disco alter, a theremin-playing intergalactic Raffaella Carrà whose songs are simultaneously cheeky and sincere. My favorite off her latest album, Dance Therapy, is “Nobody Cares,” a sentiment I find more liberating than depressing. 

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Happening in L.A.

Scarface Italo Disco, Carrie Movie Screenings and More for Memorial Day Weekend

Flyer for Dolce Vita Italo disco tribute to Scarface at The Grayson in Los Angeles on May 24, 2025

I’m not DJing this weekend, but my friends are Saturday night, May 24, at the Grayson (351 S. Broadway DTLA 90013) for Dolce Vita’s Tribute to Scarface. David Christian and Mando Italo will be on the decks playing Italo disco and Giorgio Moroder faves. Dolce Vita’s Scarface parties are always a vibe and guests are encouraged to dress in theme, so don’t miss out on this. There’s no cover. Party starts at 9 p.m. and goes until last call. This is a 21+ event. 

If you’re planning on going to the Scarface party you might as well make it a Brian De Palma kind of weekend at head to Gardena Cinema (14948 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena 90249) on Sunday, May 25, where Carrie is screening. This is the real deal 1976 De Palma film, not an unnecessary remake, starring creepy Sissy Spacek and creepier Piper Laurie. It is, quite possibly, the best horror film ever made. There are three screenings, so check the times and get tickets. 

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Adventures in L.A., Record Stores

Salt Box Records Is Now Open in Little Tokyo

Inside Salt Box Records at Hello Stranger in Little Tokyo
Inside Salt Box Records at Hello Stranger in Little Tokyo.

There’s some good news for L.A. crate diggers. Salt Box Records is back IRL. The record shop operated by modern funk musician and DJ XL Middleton recently reopened inside Little Tokyo venue Hello Stranger after focusing on Instagram drops and pop-up events for the past few years. The soft open was last week. I stopped by on Friday afternoon and left with some heat. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played On the Saturday Before Halloween

Inside Albert Reyes Haunted House 2024 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Inside Albert Reyes’ Haunted House (Pic: Liz O.)

I ended up double-booked on the Saturday before Halloween. While that has happened before, it’s never happened while there was a World Series game going on at Dodger Stadium. Thinking about traffic and logistics and rideshare prices stressed me out, but, for reasons I don’t know, there was an Uber Black special early in the evening, which made the first two trips a little more budget-friendly. 

Anyhow, I started the night with an hour-long set of spooky tunes at artist Albert Reyes’ haunted house party. Albert, who I’ve known since 2009, when I was a new staffer at L.A. Weekly and interviewed him, spends all year building a maze-like haunted house filled with narrow hallways, dark corners and art installations. I went through the haunt before the party started and was both awed and spooked, which might be the point. 

I started DJing at around 8 p.m. and heard fireworks early in the set, which I guess is when the Dodgers won game two of the series.  Here’s what I played. 

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Adventures in L.A.

Italo Horror Disco Brought Giallo and Jams to the Grayson

Thomas Mellan live at The Grayson in Los Angeles on October 19, 2024 for Italo Horror Disco (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Thomas Mellan live at The Grayson DTLA for Italo Horror Disco on Saturday, October 19 (Pic: Liz O.)

The Grayson is slammed when I arrive Saturday night. It’s just a little after 10:30 p.m., but there are crowds of people hovering over the bar, more huddled in the  booths and gathered on the floor. Almost immediately, I spot someone on the dance floor, a friend who I haven’t seen in a while. We say hi and comment on the music and get back into the groove. It’s Italo Horror Night, L.A. Industrial/Dolce Vita’s Halloween party, and the vibe inside is giallo and jams. The Beyond, the 1981 Lucio Fulci film, is playing on a TV above the bar. David Christian just dropped “One Night in Bangkok,” but it’s not the Murray Head version that I know from countless spins on L.A. radio stations. I make a mental note to ask him about it. 

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Got It On Vinyl

This Belgian Cover of “Vamos a La Playa” Sounds Like Early ’80s Los Angeles

12" single of "Vamos a la Playa" cover of Righeira song by The Miamis featuring Lou, U.S. release from Baja Records with original mix, scratch mix and extended version

It was hot and the record store was small and bright. Jazz filled the room as I flipped through bins, side-eyeing price tags on ‘80s records. That’s what they want for the Go-Gos? I thought. That’s the kind of record you get from your relatives who went digital ages ago. In fact, at least one of my Go-Gos records came to me in exactly that way. I don’t even want to see the Fleetwood Mac prices here. 

I headed over to the dance bin, just in case there was something that looked interesting. And there was. It was a copy of “Vamos a la Playa” with a $4.99 price tag on it. That’s weird, I thought. I can’t tell you how long “Vamos a la Playa” has been in the L.A. ether, but it’s one of the Italo disco jams that everyone seems to know. If you play it a club— and I think most of us DJs have done so many, many times— you can hear the crowd singing out on the floor. At least, they sing along with the chorus, “Vamos a la playa, oh-oh-oh-oh.” They usually don’t get all into the verse about radioactive winds blowing through your hair. It’s a strange song by today’s standards, but deceptively cheerful ditties  about nuclear annihilation were totally a thing in the 1980s. Don’t believe me? This is probably the only time in my life that I will ever recommend listening to “99 Luftballoons” in English. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played for Splash! at The Mermaid on July, 23, 2024

Christmas in July at The Mermaid on July 23, 2024 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Christmas in July continues at The Mermaid. (Pic: Liz O.)

It was totally last minute, but I filled in for Splash! at The Mermaid on Tuesday night, playing ’80s music from 8 p.m. until last call. I was in a Roxy Music, Japan and Duran Duran mood, which manifested in the set. Plus, I’ve had the Real Life song “Openhearted” stuck in my head on-and-off for a few weeks, so that made an appearance in the set too. Check out the set list below.

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played for Splash! at The Mermaid on July 9, 2024

Christmas in July at The Mermaid in Little Tokyo with Christmas tree tiki mug, sand snow man tiki mug and gingerbread man tiki mug (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
The Mermaid’s Christmas in July tiki mugs, including a Christmas tree, a sand/snow man and a gingerbread man. (Pic: Liz O.)

Splash! is Dolce Vita’s new Tuesday night ‘80s party at The Mermaid. You’ll still hear Italo disco in the mix, but you’ll also hear new wave, synthpop and more subgenres of the decade’s dance music . I played for the first time since the rebrand for the first half of the night tonight and it was lot of fun to get to drop some of my Italo favorites (Ken Laszlo, Pino D’Angio) with a few of the ‘80s night standards (OMD, The Cure, etc.), some tunes that I don’t get to play out so much (Olivia Newton-John “Twist of Fate”) and a few tracks from the era that are actually new to me (Angelyne “Sex Goddess,” thanks to the Dark Entries reissue). Oh, and I was able to work in the best song from Voyage of the Rock Aliens (Real Life “Openhearted”), a movie I’ve been trying to write about for a while, but I still can’t make sense of it, which might be the point. My only regret is not adding Pia Zadora to my ‘80s virtual crate. Next time. 

Also, it’s Christmas in July at The Mermaid. The tiki mugs in the top photo are part of the promotion. You can buy one solo or with one of the drinks on the Cocktails for a Cause menu, all of which have Christmas horror names, like Santa’s Slay. The mugs were so cute— my favorite is the sand/snow man in the center of the photo— so I had to take a photo. 

Anyhow, keep reading for the set list. Seen you next on Friday, July 12, for Yeah Yeah Yeahs x Siouxsie Nite at Club Underground.

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