New French Police + More of What You Heard in Klub Nocturno New Wave vs. Darkwave Room, 7/11/25

New wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno, July 11, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
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. 

Anyhow, here’s what you heard last night. 

Continue reading New French Police + More of What You Heard in Klub Nocturno New Wave vs. Darkwave Room, 7/11/25

N8NOFACE and Chico Mann Update a Classic Alternative Sound on As of Right Now

N8NOFACE promo photo by Sela Shiloni
N8NOFACE (photo: Sela Shiloni)

“Waiting to Wait For You” has been running on a loop through my brain. The lead single from As of Right Now, the latest EP from N8NOFACE and his debut with venerable L.A. label Stones Throw, is a sticky mix of indie jangle and new wave bounce with the Long Beach-based singer repeating, “I can’t wait, wait to wait for you” against a riff that sounds as if it could have come from Johnny Marr. 

N8 credits producer Chico Mann, aka Marcos Garcia, the guitarist best known for his work with Antibalas and Here Lies Man, for the EP’s sound. “He was a huge Johnny Marr fan as a kid,” says N8 on a recent video call. The two connected a few years back to collaborate on producing another song. “We would talk about what direction I would want to go in and I always mention to him things that I just can’t do musically and he’s like, well this is a sound I always wanted to produce, let me write some music with your voice in mind,” N8 recalls. Garcia came back with about a dozen instrumentals. N8 tackled the lyrics in about a year and seven of the songs landed on As of Right Now. 

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“Supernature MMXXV”: Cerrone Revives Disco Banger with Christine and the Queens and Purple Disco Machine

Cerrone and Christine and the Queens photo by Thomas Spault
Cerrone and Christine and the Queens collaborated on new EP, Catching Feelings (Photo: Thomas Spault)

“Supernature” is the signature Cerrone song. A synth-fueled, sci-fi epic with Lene Lovich-penned lyrics inspired by The Island of Dr. Moreau, it was both of-the-moment and ahead-of-the-curve in 1978, a disco hit that foretold the sound and the vibe of the new wave 1980s. In the decades that followed, it’s become one of those songs that DJs love, right up there with “You Make Me Feel” and “I Feel Love” when it comes to seminal dance club tracks. Now, Cerrone is bringing the banger back, this time with help from Christine and the Queens and Purple Disco Machine, as “Supernature MMXXV.”

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Klub Nocturno Is This Friday + Decadanse Soiree, Optometry Live and More Happening in L.A. from July 10 – July 16

Klub Nocturno at Catch One in Los Angeles on Friday, July 11, 2025

Klub Nocturno is back at Catch One this Friday, July 11, and, yes, I’ll be your DJ in the new wave vs. darkwave room, where it will be She Past Away night. There are five rooms for you and your friends to explore at Nocturno, whether your tastes lean towards rock en Español and cumbia, Deftones, reggaeton or banda. Tickets for the 18+ event are available now via Dice, so get yours asap and join us on Friday night. Party starts at 9:30 p.m.

As for the rest of the weekend and early next week, keep reading for my recommendations.

Continue reading Klub Nocturno Is This Friday + Decadanse Soiree, Optometry Live and More Happening in L.A. from July 10 – July 16

Molly Nilsson’s Un-American Activities Is More Relevant a Year After Its Release

Molly Nilsson Un-American Activities 2024 album on vinyl

Last year, Molly Nilsson released Un-American Activities, which you could say is her L.A. album. The Berlin-based synthpop artist made it as part of a residency at Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades and it’s inspired by a few specific moments where global events and local history come together. Moreover, the album, which is one of my favorites from 2024, really fits the mood in Los Angeles right now. It’s dark and, lyrically, she makes connections between European fascism of the 1930s, the Red Scare in the mid-20th century U.S. and contemporary politics. So, when I was pulling records to play at Bigfoot Lodge on Saturday, I immediately grabbed my copy of Un-American Activities and thought of the song “Jackboots Return.” 

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Molly Nilsson, The Clash and More of What You Heard at Bigfoot Lodge on July 5, 2025

Bigfoot Lodge Los Angeles California July 5, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Inside Bigfoot Lodge

For anyone who hasn’t been there before, Bigfoot Lodge is this bar on Los Feliz Blvd. that’s designed to look like a cabin in the woods. There are animatronic critters near the entrance and taxidermy hiding out in the corners. It’s a trippy bar that’s been around for some 25 years. Every once in a while, I pop in to guest DJ on Malvada’s nights there, which is why I packed a bag of vinyl and headed to Bigfoot Lodge last night. I brought some recent releases (Pulp, Optometry, Sextile) and some oldies that I picked up on recent digs (Freda Payne, Heaven 17). There were songs I haven’t played out in public before, but felt needed to be heard (Molly Nilsson “Jackboots Return) and songs that I’ve played many, many times, but should be heard again (The Clash “Police On My Back”), but there wasn’t a real theme or anything. There were three of us DJ last night, so we swapped off throughout the night. My set lists are below. 

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Fontaines D.C. and More of What You Heard at Underground on Friday, July 4, 2025

Fontaines D.C. Romance Album cover
Spoiler alert: Romance by Fontaines D.C. is the album of the year.

Here’s a quick set list from Underground last night. I played open-to-close and forgot to take pics, so I’m posting the cover of Romance at the top of this post because Fontaines D.C. are the best rock band around right now and it saddens me that people don’t come up to the booth and bug me to play them all night at Underground. So, that’s your reminder. When I’m back at Underground on July 18, come up to me and say, “Liz, please play some Fontaines D.C. for us.”  

Set list is below.

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Director Christopher Bickel on Pater Noster and the Mission of Light

Pater Noster and the Mission of Light directed by Christopher Bickel movie still
Pater Noster and the Mission of Light (2024) directed by Christopher Bickel

Earlier this year, while scrolling through Night Flight (the only streamer worth a paid subscription), I stumbled across a movie called Pater Noster and the Mission of Light. A horror movie about the hunt for a possibly cursed record made by a cult in the ‘70s, it was full of vinyl nerd in-jokes, references to the Source Family, the Merry Pranksters and Whipped Cream and Other Delights. I was smitten with it. 

Directed by Christopher Bickel, Pater Noster is a wild ride through dusty record bins and into the strange, terrifying world of a fictional psychedelic cult. The film, made with a budget of just $21,000, is also an exercise in resourcefulness. “We do these movies on such a low budget, so when I go to write it, I have to write to things that I have access to,” says Bickel on a recent video call, “things that I think would elevate the production value, to make it look like we spent money on this thing or that thing.”

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Vinyl DJ Set at Bigfoot Lodge + Jean Cocteau Films and More Happening in L.A. July 3 – July 9

Vinyl DJ sets Bigfoot Lodge Los Feliz Malvada, Lee, Liz O. Saturday July 5, 2025

This Saturday, July 5, I’ll be at Bigfoot Lodge in Los Feliz, playing records alongside DJs Malvada and Lee from 10 p.m. until close. It’s 21+ and there’s no cover. This isn’t a genre-specific night, but you’ll probably hear a few tracks from Douglas McCarthy, the frontman of Nitzer Ebb, who died in June.

Earlier that evening, just up Los Feliz Blvd. from Bigfoot Lodge, there will be Jean Cocteau birthday celebration at Philosophical Research Society. The event is a fundraiser for PRS organized by Sacred Monster, Surrealist Study Group and 7th House Screenings and will include a screening of Testament of Orpheus the final film in Cocteau’s Orphic Trilogy, which stars the director and features Pablo Picasso, Charles Aznavour and other luminaries. If you’re going, stop by Bigfoot Lodge after the event and tell me all about it. 

Continue reading Vinyl DJ Set at Bigfoot Lodge + Jean Cocteau Films and More Happening in L.A. July 3 – July 9

Black Moth Super Rainbow and More New Music for June, 2025

Black Moth Super Rainbow Soft New Magic Dream album cover
Black Moth Super Rainbow, Soft New Magic Dream

There is no shortage of killer new music out this month and handful of those have already appeared here on Beatique, but I’m just one person and there aren’t enough hours in the day to listen to everything that’s out now, let alone write about it. I didn’t want to shout out a few more new releases, like Soft New Magic Dream from Black Moth Super Rainbow, plus an impressive goth/industrial club-friendly new album and two lovely full-lengths out now via long-running indie label Slumberland. 

Before we get to the reviews, though, I just want to say thank you reading. I started updating Beatique with reviews and original reporting in January because it looked like the situation for music, arts and culture journalism, my day job for well over a decade, in the U.S. would grow even more dismal and it has. But, at the same time, Beatique has had its highest amount of traffic this month and a lot of it is repeat visitors (from outside the U.S. too!) who are checking out multiple stories. Maybe I’m correct in thinking that people actually want to read things written by actual human beings who actually go out into the world and do the reporting themselves. Maybe I’m deluding myself. Either way, thanks for joining me on the ride. There’s more to come, so if you’re interested, check out the ways you can stay up-to-date on Beatique (and my DJ gigs) at the bottom of this post. 

Continue reading Black Moth Super Rainbow and More New Music for June, 2025

Indie music and alt culture blog from Los Angeles. By Liz O.