The awesome flyer was drawn by Christine Hale. I think her artwork has appeared in more issues of L.A. Record than any other illustrator? Is that right?

Anne Litt has been involved with KCRW for fifteen years, and has earned critical acclaim not only for her on-air talents, but also her supervision of the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack. She’s also the one responsible for the recent appearance of the Black Keys and Sean Hayes on Subaru commercials. Litt was a crucial player in the establishment of KCRW’s internet identity and on-line music channel, and you can hear her on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 pm (or on demand) playing “progressive pop and new rhythms.” This interview by Kristina Benson.

What are your favorite five albums of 2010 from L.A.-based artists?

Anne Litt:

Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma – Flying Lotus is a genius, in my opinion. The beat culture that he has been instrumental in building truly defines an L.A. sound. Other artists like Nosaj Thing, Gaslamp Killer, Tokimonsta, Daedelus, Teebs, Take, and on and on are part of a scene that is hands down the most exciting one happening now. I want to hear more from all of them in 2011.

Darker My Love – Alive As You Are – I’ve written a lot about Darker My Love’s latest record because I keep going back to it over and over again. The sounds are from another era and feel distinctly West Coast. The psychedelic, trippy guitars and down in the dirt, organic sounds of this record have made it a favorite.

Local Natives – Gorilla Manor – They are so good live and I think this record is a great example of what bands are doing today, pulling in different influences and sounds from a global perspective.

Warpaint – The Fool – This record missed some Top Ten mentions because it’s such a new release, but I think it’s just amazing. This is their debut full length and their sound is easy and unforced. It’s hazy and organic and will seep into your brain. Their cover of “Ashes To Ashes” on Manimal Vinyl’s Bowie tribute record rivals the original.

Ozomatli – Fire Away – Ozo has been the standard bearer for L.A. culture for two decades. The responsibility they feel to the community and the fun they have making music is inspiring. This record is razor sharp. I was also proud of the remixes we KCRW DJ’s did of tracks from the record too.

What releases in 2011 are you most looking forward to?
Anne Litt: I hear that new records are coming from all of these artists in 2011, but I’m sure there are tons more amazing records that I don’t even know about yet!
* Other Lives
* Devotchka
* Iron and Wine
* The Shins
* Death Cab For Cutie
* DJ Shadow

Do you think it’s hard for an artist to keep the attention of listeners and music fans these days, given how much music is out there competing for our attention through internet-based blogs, radio stations, MTV, YouTube, etc?

Anne Litt: On the one hand, I think it’s much harder and more work to keep the attention of the listeners. But, on the other hand, since the playing field has been leveled, so many more artists have a voice. Honestly that’s what gets me most excited. I feel as though I stumble upon something new that I like almost every day.

The “noise” level is high though because of the sheer volume. And because there are not physically enough hours in the day to read every blog and watch every YouTube video, I have my trusty, secret sources who hip me to things that I might have missed. For example, just last week one of my secret agents turned me on to Danish singer songwriter, Agnes Obel. Her debut, Philharmonics, came out in a few European countries in October and has gotten a lovely review from the BBC. The world might have missed her spare and lovely compositions if this was 1991 when the world was ruled by major labels.

There are a couple artists that appear consistently on a lot of top tens. I’m thinking of Flying Lotus and Janelle Monae in particular. What do you think it is about these artists that resonated so broadly?

Anne Litt: I think that people today are looking for art—for sounds that remember our collective past but look forward with a new perspective. Also, because the globe has gotten smaller through technology, sounds from other eras and times have seeped into our consciousness and music in a really exciting way. Flylo and Janelle Monae are two great examples of that. Flying Lotus takes jazz, soul, and electronic music and has twisted into something else, while Janelle Monae’s songs are musical theater with messages and hooks.

How has the music scene in Los Angeles changes since you started at KCRW?

Anne Litt: My sense (I’ve been here since 1991) is that the scene and sounds are more cohesive. I don’t mean that all the bands sound alike, but that everyone is supporting each other. The independent records stores, club scene, internet radio stations like Dublab, KXLU, KCRW, and KPFK are supporting a giant variety of local music and it’s flourishing.

Alejandro Cohen wants to put you to sleep. He came to L.A. from Buenos Aires in ‘96 to spin records and stir up dusty dino bones. On May 28th, Ale and friends from L.A.-based collective dublab will take over the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur to create an night of ambient music event aptly titled “Tonalism”—a term Ale appropriated from late-19th-century painters who tried to capture the mood of nature by representing it with misty atmospheres. This interview by Drew Denny.

When did you come up with the concept for Tonalism?
Alejandro Cohen: The first Tonalism happened in 2007, but the idea probably came to me in 2006. My friend Adam, who runs the label Pehr—pehrlabel.com—released a compilation called Tonalism. The idea of the comp was to have music that was meant to fall asleep to when listening to it. From there I thought it’d be fun to do an event where we play music with the same idea in mind. Also at the time I was reading more and more about events that people like La Monte Young, Terry Riley, John Cage and Yoko Ono were having both in the East Coast and the West Coast that had a similar concept to the one behind Tonalism. And from there the main idea came.
The flyer describes the event as an ‘ambient music happening’ but I saw names like Michael Stock—from Part Time Punks—included as well. How did you curate the event? Will everyone be playing ambient music or are you mixing it up?
The music and performers behind Tonalism all share a same sense and taste in music and styles. The live performers, DJs and visual artists are chosen not really based on genres of music, but mostly by having a common understanding on how things should sound, look and feel. So to answer to your question, yes—it is a mix of styles, eras, genres and instrumentation. But at the end all is connected.
Is it true that Brian Eno coined the term ‘ambient music’?
I’m not sure about that. I do believe there’s an artist that presented that concept a few years before Eno did. His name is Douglas Leedy and the record is Entropical Paradise—from 1972. In the liner notes I remember him pretty much presenting the concept of ambient music. It’s a fantastic release consisting of three records, six songs, one on each side.
What does that term mean to you?
It’s just a term. It helps simplify your everyday conversations when you want to refer to a certain feel, emotion or style in music. But it’s not too far off. What most people consider ambient…that’s another thing. It varies greatly, and all of them are valid. To me ambient music is melodies, songs, sounds, compositions or noises that create an environment—it’s not background music, but it doesn’t require for you to listen to it actively… It is somewhere in between those two. At Tonalism many recordings we play aren’t meant to serve that purpose, but we present it in a way that it does.
Where are you from?
I’m originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, from the neighborhood of Recoleta. I moved to L.A. in August 1996. When I moved to L.A., I ended up in Altadena—it’s a long story—but fortunately I didn’t find myself in the middle of Hollywood surrounded by European students trying to play guitar like Joe Satriani or Pastorius. I was fortunate to meet by pure coincidence—through a Recycler ad for a Volkswagen car—Damon Aaron. He introduced me to Michael Morgan a.k.a. Transistor Cricket, and from there I connected with other people, eventually meeting the folks at KXLU. Back then everything was more isolated—things happened at random a lot more, and mainly because it was before the Internet and Myspace became popular. Post-rock was in its infancy, with Tortoise only having one release, but people were already paying attention. Up in Altadena we really lived in our own world. Personally I fell in love with Further, Summer Hits and affiliated bands, including many that were part of KXLU and the clubs Jabberjaw, the Smell—in the valley—and the Impala Cafe. But it did feel much much smaller than now. You could sense that there were only a handful of people doing this. Silverlake wasn’t what is now, same with Los Feliz. Spaceland was just starting, and I remember the LA Weekly running an article about it. But that’s about it.
What do you think about the radio stations in L.A.? What is the future of Internet radio organizations like dublab?
I don’t really know commercial radio enough to have an opinion. KPFK, KXLU and KCRW are the ones that I’m mostly familiar with. And I think between the three of them, they offer a wide range of music that most cities only wish they could enjoy. Those stations can be quite adventurous in their choices, and that’s great! Internet radio seems to be getting more and more accessible as technology advances in its favor. The number of listeners will probably increase. Hopefully Internet radio will have the reach that FM/AM radio has in terms of accessibility. In regards to programming, I don’t see it departing radically from what FM and AM radio are nowadays in relation to content and options out there. It will probably offer the same type of options that FM and AM radio offers but in more quantity.
When did you start spinning?
I don’t remember when I started—it wasn’t a decision I made consciously. Little by little I started getting more and more involved in events, sometimes playing music, sometimes organizing. After a while I found myself playing records more and more, and that’s what happened. But if I have to give you a rough estimate, I’d say it was around 1998 or so.
Tell me about Languis. What’s your role in that project?
Languis is a band I started with Marcos Chloca in 1997. We released a bunch of records through the years. We toured a bit, and played with a lot of local bands and artists that came through L.A., like Broadcast, and Mouse On Mars. The band is still around—we released a record last year called Fractured through Plug Research. We have some releases planned for this year, but no live shows. Marcos moved on to play with a band called Lower Heaven, so at the moment I’m the main person behind the group.
Tell me about when Languis recorded at the Natural History Museum.
Oh, that was awesome! The natural reverbs sounded so beautiful. It really makes you realize how awful it is having to rely on reverbs from a computer all the time, since most people don’t have access to a room like that or natural echo chambers to record. It’s like watching a movie all your life on a tiny black and white TV, and all of a sudden someone plays that same movie on the big screen from its original film. In other aspects it was also a great experience. We—Languis—were there late at night to record a piece for the Natural History Museum’s Sonic Scenery exhibit. It was such a contrast to how you see the museum during the day. Everything comes to life!
Which is your favorite dinosaur?
I’m not sure—they are all pretty cool. Never went through the dinosaur phase as a kid. If I have to pick one, I’d say the Argentinasaurus, since I’m originally from there.

TONALISM PRESENTED BY DUBLAB WITH MUSIC BY THE DUBLAB SOUNDSYSTEM, WINDY & CARL, PHARAOHS, WHITE RAINBOW, NUDGE, ANDY CABIC, CARLOS NIÑO, MIA DOI TODD AND MANY MORE PLUS JIMMY TAMBORELLO, MICHAEL STOCK, KATIE BYRON, SMALL TOWN TALK, DJ COOL CHRIS AND OTHERS ON THU., MAY 28, AT THE HENRY MILLER LIBRARY, HIGHWAY ONE, BIG SUR. 4:20PM / $20 / ALL AGES. DUBLAB.COM.

Daedelus will be performing a live set Tuesday, Feb. 19, at Broke Folk at La Cita. Please enjoy his exclusive podcast and this interview below.

Where are you from?
Santa Monica, California. Not so typical, I suppose, to have neither escaped elsewhere to Los Angeles, or left L.A. at the soonest age possible…
Where do you live now?
Now it’s the Mar Vista / Venice border. Let’s not say too much about the current state of Santa Monica—a little pricer then it once was, but there are still pockets of commercial resistance.
Are you digital or vinyl?
Anything and everything. I try not to say ‘NO’ to any sound source right away—perhaps I should draw the line at cheesy trance and nu-nrg, but I’m sure there is some redeeming value deep down in the genre. If anything, there is so much more vinyl possibility out there than digital. All the vinyl in the world is Everest vs. CDs’ Mountain High.
What mixer are you using?
I do a lot in the computer—mostly digital this and that. As a musician, I’m inclined to use odd things—anything with potentiometers, levers, switches and touchscreens. Someday some clever person will put them all together and we can leave the computers behind…
What needles are you using?
Ok, now you’re getting personal. I’m a fan of DJing, but someone once told me to not share needles—I think it was Ms. Reagan. Can you believe the American public once voted in office someone named Ronald Reagan?
What are your turntables of choice?
Technics 1210s, but you can rarely count on them being available, and as I DJ less and less, I appreciate that the best piece of equipment is often just a sturdy table at the proper height. Ever tried scratching on a rickety table that barely makes it to your knees? NO fun.
First time you ever DJed?
It is difficult to say. I think many times in high school, I’d have a few friends over and I would try to persuade them to hear this crazy record by Acen or DJ Hype—sometimes I’d even do programming for our little “explorations.” But real formal gigging wasn’t until I was in university and had a silly amount of jungle records that no one else really liked, and I would probably impose way too hard on listeners’ patience with no turntable skillz to speak of…
Weirdest DJ gig?
Can’t say during DJing what really counts, but a few from live gigging experience: playing in a ska group (One Legged Bob) while a pornstar (Annabel Chong) had sex on the dancefloor, or gigs at donut shops (mainly Spudnuts) with the Mashnotes, or playing live as Daedelus in Shizuoka, Japan, in a room the size of a closet to flamethrower-wielding high-as-a-kite ravers who sang along to tunes they had never heard before… best gig ever!
What are you playing in your set right now?
Anything people will allow me to get away with, but sadly mainly my own compositions—perhaps I am an army of one in this regard.
What are you listening to in your car?
KXLU, KPFK, KOLA, and KPWR from noon until 1PM.
Last record you bought and where?
MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob, from a thrift store, and by the way, it’s awful.
Best record you scored for $1?
To be cheeky, I’d almost say the MC Skat Kat, but really it’s probably Power Pill by Aphex Twin. Regularly selling for hundreds, but I found it at Vinyl Surplus in the novelty section!

For more shows check out: larecord.com/radio

BROKE FOLK PRESENTS I LOVE L.A. WITH A LIVE SET BY DAEDELUS PLUS DJs KONE AND TOP SHELF ON TUE., FEB. 19, AT LA CITA, 336 S. HILL ST., LOS ANGELES. 9 PM / FREE / 21+. MYSPACE.COM/BROKEFOLK.