Download: “Let. Him. In.” Mixtape by Alejandro Cohen

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dublab and Discotheque records are teaming up with Freak City on Sunset for a new monthly night each second Thursday dedicated to Italo disco, cosmic space music, dance from advanced planets and every good record with an airbrushed nebula somewhere in the packaging. Resident and founder Alejandro Cohen speaks now about masquerade balls and Manuel Gottsching. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

You said Let. Him. In. will be playing music you never hear in L.A. clubs—will the effect be of unleashing all this at once?
Alejandro Cohen: Yes, it is true—most of the music is dance stuff that you never really hear in clubs. I think people have been collecting it, listening to it at home, or playing it at certain parties. You’ll find DJs that would play a few tracks here and there in their set, but not really a fully dedicated night to this. At least not that we know of … Some of the early acid house stuff is kind of forbidden in a way—for a long time I’ve been playing things like DJ Bravo, and the dance floor would clear! But lately people are staying in the dance floor and timidly admitting that this stuff is actually good and fun. We do really hope people have a good time—dance, have a drink, and leave wanting more.
I feel like there are a lot of DJs who have been waiting for a chance to play this music—who are you hoping to book soon and why?
Alejandro Cohen: When we put out an invite to the dublab DJs, many replied saying they have a good stack of these records they would love to play. We’ve been making lists of people we want to bring. Among them we are planning on having Daedelus, all the dublab DJs, and many of our friends that DJ or have records but don’t get the opportunity to play them in public often.
Who gets to play the very first song ever at Let. Him. In.?
Alejandro Cohen: I’m not sure—I think I’ll take the lead. I was planning on playing Manuel Gottsching ‘E2 E4.’ I read that DJ Alfredo—one of the main people behind Balearic Beat—loves to open with that track, and I think that’s a great idea. It’s laid-back and a great beat and it’s long enough that allows you to sound check and set up while playing music.
What upcoming DJ is most likely to play like a 13-minute Krautrock drone jam? And what particular jam will it probably be?
Alejandro Cohen: I hope Kutmah will be the one to do that. Maybe he’ll do this crazy mix of Can, Kraftwerk and Cluster.
Tell me about a soon-to-be-in-heavy-rotation Let. Him. In. selection that never got its due when it came out—something that’s aged incredibly well. What is it and why does it hold up?
Alejandro Cohen: I think Arthur Russell and Dinosaur L will be one of the artists that will be played a lot. Some of his stuff is being put out now for the first time, and although some of the Dinosaur L stuff he did was played at clubs in New York back in the day, none of it became huge international hits. But really that goes for all of the Sleeping Bag Records catalog—Arthur Russell’s label. It all was so ahead of its time and it wasn’t trying to be anything in particular, and many times that’s the music that ages best.
What is the second-most ‘obscure gem’ that you can promise we’ll hear at the first Let. Him. In.?
Alejandro Cohen: At least from me—’Just Landed Cosmic Kid’ by Michael Bundt.
What kind of music is your first guest Stellar OM Source going to DJ? Her recorded music is unbelievable—what kind of records has she promised to bring?
Alejandro Cohen: I’m not sure what she’ll be playing, but I think it’s going to be some electro/disco stuff—I don’t know! I saw some very retro-futuristic covers in her record bag. Some of them are scary in a good way.
What is the first time you yourself ever DJed? What happened?
Alejandro Cohen: The first time at a bar/club setting was at a night at Temple bar that Hoseh was putting together—I think that was in 1998. It was okay. I think I hit the needle a few times and there were big explosions of sound coming out of the speakers. I wasn’t even intending on DJing, but just playing records. It was learning as you go.
What’s been your most recent weirdest DJ gig? Has dublab ever taken you somewhere you weren’t quite yet ready for?
Alejandro Cohen: Reed College in Portland! We DJed at their Masquerade Ball. It was the strangest thing. It started with everyone wearing masks and banging on pots and pans. Kids were going wild, jumping around, screaming and dancing to the most absurd mix we’ve ever done. They were super open minded and ready to go for it. There was another time where I showed up to KPFK to do our 4AM to 6AM set for Future Roots Radio and realized I forgot my records. I had to scramble and improvise. I ended up doing a two-hour set out of the CDs I had laying around in the car and music from YouTube that I patched into the board. It ended up sounding good!
What’s the best $1 record you’ll be playing tonight at Let. Him. In.?
Alejandro Cohen: ‘The Only Way Is Up’ by Yaz!

DUBLAB AND DISCOTHEQUE RECORDS PRESENT LET. HIM. IN. WITH STELLAR OM SOURCE AND RESIDENTS ALE, FROSTY, GREEN BEAN, SFV ACID AND SUZANNE KRAFT ON THUR., APRIL 8, AT FREAK CITY, 6613 SUNSET BLVD., LOS ANGELES. 9 PM / $5 / ALL AGES. DUBLAB.COM.