This week’s label mix comes from L.A.U.R.A, a Los Angeles label leading the charge in the city’s rave underground. Foregrounding artists from LA, the party-turned-label’s gritty ethos and noisy, unpolished output reflect the sound of the raves they put on and participate in, a far cry from what you’ll hear in the city’s glitzy, clout-chasing clubs. 

“Anything from warehouses to open fields to train tracks is fair game and luckily the city has all of that,” the label told Nina. “The scene has this ethos just to make shit happen. LA puts in the work because we have to.”

L.A.U.R.A.’s label mix charts its past, present, and future. It’s not only a snapshot of an exciting young label, but a celebration of Los Angeles’ deep well of musical talent and inspiration. 

Where are you based?

Los Angeles, CA  

Can you describe your label mix? 

It’s our favorite tracks from past, present, and future releases. 

What inspired you to start a label?

L.A.U.R.A. initially started as a party and has evolved into a label. We never initially thought it would be a label but then the pandemic happened and we wanted to figure out some ways to still maintain some sense of community. It started with a 30-track comp called Psychological Operations, with all LA artists in the electronic sphere who we are really hyped on. It all just evolved from there. That comp made us really excited about the music makers in our city and we figured a label is the best way to prop them up other than just shows.  

Does your label have a sound or a mission? 

We generally gravitate towards the harder noisier side of techno and dance music. We both come from punk so we like our shit aggressive. Our mission as a label is to showcase the talent in LA in any way possible and foster a community here. We want people from all over to listen and know it comes from LA and we just want to put the city on the map as a techno city. 

Tell us about your scene(s).

The scene here is really exciting right now. There are so many new parties, crews, DJs popping up and it’s making everyone perfectly competitive to make the best things possible. I think after the pandemic, the city just exploded with inspiration that it made everyone want to be part of this crazy new thing. I think because we don’t really have proper clubs in the city, it’s forced us to be creative with spaces. Anything from warehouses to open fields to train tracks is fair game and luckily the city has all of that. The scene has this ethos just to make shit happen. LA puts in the work because we have to. 

What’s your A&R process? 

We have a few ways of finding artists who we want to release. One way is through parties and the people playing. The beauty of the scene right now is that practically everyone who DJs also makes tracks. If we’re hyped on someone’s either live or DJ set, we’ll reach out and see if they’re down to do a release with us. The other way is zoning artists we’re into through SoundCloud and Bandcamp and reaching out. We generally try to keep releases to LA-based artists. 

What labels do you look up to? 

Downwards, Underground Resistance, Ascetic House, L.I.E.S., Toxic State Records, Drop Bass Network, Beast Arts, Crass Records