![]() “The cool thing about L.A.’s geographical makeup is that despite long distances between most destinations you travel to, L.A.’s nightlife scene is concentrated in the DTLA warehouse district, which makes party-hopping easily accessible,” she says.Įntertainment & Arts After the death of the Airliner, who are the next heirs to L.A.’s underground throne left behind by Low End Theory? “Our warehouse parties become places of refuge where you’re not constricted by the rules of the law.”įor Bahar Khadem, the San Fernando Valley native behind the warehouse party Direct Drive, techno parties being pushed to the edges of the city is a plus. We turned a negative with the clubs closing so early into an absolute positive,” says Los Angeles native Michael Frazier, who DJs as Monsieur Frazier. The underground scene predominantly happens in word-of-mouth warehouses that closely resemble the spirit of Craig’s “Party/After-Party.” But local lovers of the genre know the city’s offerings don’t end there. It’s eight miles from Sound, a popular club that books techno DJs. MOCA’s Little Tokyo location is a stone’s throw from Exchange L.A., an EDM-leaning club with the occasional techno booking, and 1720, a warehouse-style multigenre space. ![]() The shift from “Party” to “After-Party” is marked by a final shock of natural light, beaming through Warehouse skylights programmed to open in time with the soundscape. Around the perimeter, different sounds are more audible, sharing secrets between those who opt to take in the party from the edges of the dance floor. Standing in the sweet spot, the sound is loud enough to create vibrations in the body. Speakers hung from the ceiling and stacked around the space use sound design to edge viewers toward what associate curator Alex Sloane calls “the sweet spot.” Upon entering the space, a translucent scrim wall encourages revelers to contribute their own choreography by splitting the crowd into two sides as they acclimate to the environment. The warehouse is sprinkled with color-changing LED beams Craig made in collaboration with artist John Torres. While the piece takes place within one warehouse space and does not have timed entry, the transition from the “Party” segment to the “After-Party” is clear in sound and attitude. ![]() Which makes every iteration, like experiencing a DJ set live, slightly different. The 30-minute composition runs through software that makes random changes to sonic elements, say the drums or the bassline. Composed by Craig, the audio ranges from thudding techno beats to white noise to frequencies audible only to listeners of certain age groups. “Party/After-Party” is rooted in a soundscape that takes viewers on a journey from the party into the after-party. Craig drew on his experiences as a musician to create “Party/After-Party.” Commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation, it’s Craig’s first work of visual art and premiered at Dia Beacon in New York. Building off the work of German electronic band Kraftwerk, a group of Detroit-based Black musicians developed and named the burgeoning genre in the late 1970s and early ’80s. While the term is used by laymen as a catch-all for electronic music, techno has a distinctive sound defined by a “four on the floor” uniform, rhythmic beat pattern. “After-Party” explores the distinction between how Craig and his audience spend their respective nights once the club closes. The “Party” portion is more literal, a dark warehouse with flashing colorful lights. “‘Party/After-Party’ is a play on words, a play on ideas,” says Craig. In “ Carl Craig: Party/After-Party,” opening this weekend at the Warehouse at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Craig turns a warehouse party into a museum installation that can outlast him, inviting those who love him and those who think techno is simply oontz oontz to party from his perspective. More often it’s four, each in a different country. For him, a slow weekend involves two performances. Craig, 53, has spent more than three decades touring the world and is considered a leading figure in the genre’s second wave. Music producer and DJ Carl Craig, a trailblazer of the Detroit techno scene, knows that better than anyone. But no matter how strong that bond, no two sweaty ravers are having the exact same experience. Sharing a dance floor is a unifying experience, whether it’s 30 people in a living room or thousands packed into a club.
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