- Many DJs fixate on a particular genre—Optimo are not those DJs. Since 1997, the duo's revered party of the same name has been known for pushing the envelope of club music, and that spirit was on full display at LA spot Akbar. The venue, a longstanding Silverlake gay club, felt like a relatively small space for the booking. Akbar's regular Sunday party, Bears In Space, hosted with help from veteran California promoters Lights Down Low.
Residents from both parties set the vibe for the first few hours, as the warm, friendly crowd circulated between the club's main dance floor and smaller bar area. Attendees were a mix of Akbar regulars and familiar faces from LA's dance music community. Everyone was fully focussed on the music, whether they were busy Shazaming tracks or losing themselves on the dance floor. A lively pack of dancers had formed well before Optimo cued up their first record.
Strong sets from the residents helped galvanize the audience. Chris Bowen (Bears In Space) kept things restrained but uplifting in the smaller room with the smooth disco basslines of Jean Carn's "Time Waits for No One" and Sandy Mercer's "You Are My Love." In the main room, Bowen's fellow resident, Victor Rodriguez, raised energy levels with thumping techno from the likes of Matrixxman. Later, Corey Sizemore and Richie Panic (Lights Down Low) got big reactions from tracks like DAF's "Brothers" as they readied the floor for the headline act.
JD Twitch and JG Wilkes immediately settled into a groove with a series of bottom-heavy house cuts. After some disco (Teaspoon & The Waves' "Oh Yeh Soweto") and the ecstatic house of Shan's "Good To Me," they began taking well-received left turns into post punk and synth pop. A version of Grauzone's noisy classic "Eisbär" and Eleven Pond's brooding "Watching Trees" brought fresh exuberance to the room. But perhaps the key moment was when JD Twitch laid Ashley Judd's viral speech from last month's Women's March in Washington D.C. over a stark techno beat. This could have fallen flat in the wrong hands, but audience members were visibly moved by the words that felt addressed directly to them, as cheers climbed above the volume of the soundsystem. It reminded us all that clubs have often been—and continue to be—a place of sanctuary.