About seven years ago, brothers Vidal and Vangelis Vargas (AcidCircus) and Mo Espinosa (Drumcell) stumbled upon a common ground. Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, they all shared a love for techno music and a frustration that there wasn’t anywhere in the city to find decent techno events. Los Angeles, known for massive raves fueled on desert trance, breakbeats, hardcore/gabber and jungle, somehow overlooked this form of dance music.

For many people in LA, “techno” was just another dated buzz word similar to “electronica” or “rave”. To Acid Circus and Drumcell, techno meant stripped down futuristic music from record labels like +8, Underground Resistance, and DJAX. To them, techno meant dark industrial warehouses with a sparse lighting and floor-to-ceiling sound systems pounding away throughout the night. With a mission to change the popular opinion in the city of LA, the guys got together and forged a collective called DROID BEHAVIOR that would eventually send ripples throughout the world of techno.

As musicians, their music has gone on to top charts and gain serious rotation from some of the biggest names in the genre. As DJ’s they have toured the world over and played at legendary events such as the Movement Festival in Detroit. But around LA, what they are most known for are their stellar performances and their INTERFACE events: underground parties taking place in film locations, airplane hangars, prop storage buildings, and old factories throughout LA. INTERFACE renders dark and sweaty rooms lit up by video projections and flooded with the sound of window rattling bassbins–true in form to techno’s Detroit and Chicago roots.

Media Contender sits down with and talks to Vidal Vargas of Droid Behavior and Acid Circus to talk about where they have been, whats going on, and where they are going with techno in LA.

Drew: Tell me a little bit about how you and your brother got into techno? How did Droid start?

We were raised on new wave, synth pop, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream in the 80′s by our parents and relatives. Eventually we started picking up on industrial, lo-fi indie rock, experimental techno and house through college stations like KSPC, KUCI, KXLU and KCRW. By 1996 we were checking out acts like Underworld, Orbital, DJ Hype, and Moontribe DJs at various massives and smaller raves and club events. As we delved deeper into the music we discovered Detroit, Chicago, and New York roots and their European counterparts. The first vinyls I bought were a Cari Lekebusch double pack entitled FOR THOSE WHO KNOW and a deep techno release on Direct Drive out of New York. The combination of simple and sexy artwork and the deep abrasive sounds on these records attracted me immediately. It was as if all my electronic influences from the past 10 years had been ripped apart and reconstructed with only the barest essentials to form the ultimate in hypnotic bodymusic with enough attitude and edge to affect both dance floors and listeners. My brother and I researched artists, labels, releases and DJ sets avidly, and eventually began producing our own music emulating what we loved about our favorite releases.

Our earliest efforts were stripped down jack tracks and acid tracks all produced with our live PA in mind. By 1998 we were playing house parties with mid size set ups using computers, midi controllers, line mixers and early software like ACID, Rebirth, Cubase, etc. This is when we met Mohamed (Drumcell). At one particular New Years Eve gig (1999) we were asked to play by mutual college friends and Mo happened to be in attendance. When he saw our live methods, he was impressed with our results and saw common ground with our use of software. Soon after we began to link up in the studio to work on music and produce small events in houses, deserts, mini lofts, and where ever else we could get away with it. By 2002, we became organized and gave our music label and movement a name–DROID BEHAVIOR….

Drew: I talked a little bit about the state of electronic music in LA, and its lack of techno. What were some of the things you guys did to raise the awareness?

In the mid 90′s, Big name European techno acts were sprinkled across various raves and LA massives along side Trance and progressive DJs. Drum ‘n Bass, House, and Breakbeat genres usually had their own areas and following, but Techno was billed alongside main room 4/4 acts to crowds that usually couldn’t tell the difference. Despite those situations we made efforts to support those DJs and promoters who took a chance on the music. We also often found ourselves checking out smaller events with local artists and promoters John Tejada, Jasper, Kenneth Graham, Green Galactic, Developer, etc. By 2000 the recklessness of massives nearly killed the music scene and the followers of different genres segregated themselves in defiance. Techno had almost no following of its own due to its association with main room Trance acts and no education about its history and impact on electronic music. To raise awareness we started the Droid Behavior mailing list to promote events and educate subscribers. We printed business cards with the Droid logo, the words EAT SLEEP SHIT TECHNO, and our Email address on the back and personally sought potential fans. Initially, we were met with much resistance, especially within the House and Drum ‘n Bass scenes. We had some success with IDM crowds and really picked up momentum when we started connecting with the significant amount of Midwest and East Coast Ex-patriots now living in Los Angeles. People from cities like Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and New York that experienced the music movements of Drop Bass, Plastikman/Plus8 and Storm Raves in their respective cities, understood what we were doing and showed us support.

Drew: You guys launched Droid as a record label around 2003. What was it like to finally see your music on vinyl? What were the challenges of getting it out there?

Drumcell produced, pressed, and financed the first Droid record GENETIX. We took it to WMC and DEMF that year and did hardcore hand to hand promotions with white labels. The response was massive. While at DEMF, we heard several of the tracks on the EP dropped on at least 3 different stages during the weekend. The buzz off this record landed Droid Recordings distribution with Dietrich Schoneman’s company Complete USA and also got domestic and international DJs turning their eyes on LA. As for the challenges of getting our music out there–We had to take the initiative to release and promote it ourselves. At that point in time nobody in the industry was looking to sign anybody out of LA who wasn’t already signed and nobody was trying to cultivate or inspire producers. Europe has always had a strong hold on the market so many times labels, producers, and remixers start looking in Europe for new talent before considering the US. We have always felt it is important to support Domestic talent. As a result, our roster of artists and remixers (Drumcell, Audio Injection, Acid Circus, Luis Flores, Zahn, Geiger, etc) are mainly from our side of the pond. Of course we are open to music from all over the world, but we are aware of the talent pool in the US.

Drew: At what point did you guys realize “we did it” – mission accomplished, people in LA are actually starting to get it? (Most memorable Droid event)

When we started the Interface series our reputation as serious techno artists and promoters around LA and the US was beginning to grow. We had a major break through at Interface 2.0 where we presented Dan Bell and John Tejada to a packed house with sweat literally dripping down the walls. The street buzz from this show fueled our next few parties and piqued the interest of all fresh seeking music fans around the city. Every Droid event since then has been memorable. We have debuted so many International artists on the westcoast (Surgeon, Regis, Modeselektor, Jahcoozi, Vex’d, Speedy J, etc) and done unique installations including, indoor fireworks and full ceiling projections, that it is hard to pin point which moment stands out the most.

Drew: What’s the international response been to Droid Behavior?

Globally, the releases on Droid Recordings have been well received and given heavy play by names like Speedy J, Chris Liebing and Richie Hawtin. This also holds true for singles and remixes released on other labels from the Droids: Drumcell, Audio Injection, and Acid Circus. Also, funny enough our stickers, which contain the “eat sleep shit techno” slogan and simple Droid logo, have made their way across the globe and have been spotted by techno fans throughout Europe, Tokyo, Brazil, the Midwest, and every where in between. We constantly get emails and comments about the sightings and people associate the Droid logo with whats going on in LA.
Our youtube page http://www.youtube.com/drumcell has also been a
great source of international traffic online.

Drew: Where do you guys go from here?

On the immediate we are organizing Interface 28 in August and Interface 29 aka the 7 year Anniversary in October. We are also prepping the Droid.09, Droid.10, and Droid.digital.03 record releases before fall. And last but not least, we are giving our website a much needed overhaul. Expect a new blog style site by mid September with proper podcast, video, and picture archives. We are hoping to create a dynamic and entertaining place for Droid-related news and media content. In the wider scope of things, we are also organizing international tours, and expanding the sound of our label both digitally and on vinyl. We aim to showcase the diversity of our artists and remixers yet still tie it all to our Droid aesthetic that embraces futurism and technology.