Deepchord and Photay Live at Agora Records

Two live sets, one room, and a start time early enough that you can still make it home at a reasonable hour. Deepchord and Photay both perform live at Agora Records on Friday, September 18, with Luke and TreyB filling out the rest of the night. Music runs 8 PM to 1 AM.

Why this booking matters

Deepchord is Rod Modell's project, and it's one of the reference points for dub techno anywhere: long reverb tails, chords that arrive buried under tape hiss, kicks that sit low in the mix instead of on top of it. Live, that material breathes differently than it does on record. Modell builds in real time rather than triggering a fixed arrangement, so the same track can stretch or collapse depending on how the room responds.

Photay, who records for Mexican Summer, works a different corner. His sets pull on ambient and percussion-heavy electronics with a lighter touch, and they pair well with dub techno rather than competing with it. Luke and TreyB handle the rest of the evening.

The billing lists ambient, new wave, and dub techno, which is an honest description. This isn't a peak-time club night. It's closer to a listening room with a dance floor attached.

Practical details

Tickets run $20 to $35 through Resident Advisor, tiered so the earlier you buy, the less you pay. Agora Records is a record shop and event space, which means capacity is limited and walk-up entry is a gamble once the advance allocation goes.

Doors at 8 PM is unusually early for a night like this, so build in time for traffic. If you're browsing electronic music events LA has on offer this weekend, most of them don't start until 10 PM, which makes this one easy to stack with something later. More on the EDM page and across Los Angeles.