It’s the weekend, it’s late, and you’re not done dancing yet. Why not make your way to the east side to partake in Los Angele’s thriving underground dance music scene?
Today, we’re excited to share some news from Understated, the team behind the bi-monthly downtown parties. In early July, the team announced its debut release for its new independent record label, Understated Recordings. The label is inspired by the warehouse scene the group has established. The first release is a techno/tech house single titled Defectio , by the Munich-born, Phoenix/LA-based DJ and producer, Mike Von Gold, a.k.a. Von Gold.
The label and release announcements come after a series of well-received parties organized by the production team in Los Angeles, that have been happening since November 2016. In making the announcement, founder Micah Smith said, “Von Gold cooked up some pure magic for us…so proud of everything our crew has accomplished recently.” Von Gold describes the track elements as “a hypnotic tech house groove and dark, chaotic synths that are meant to let the listener get lost in moment.”
Enjoy this hot track, and be on the lookout for an official label launch party in the next few months!
About Von Gold
I was born and raised in Munich, Germany until I moved to Phoenix at the age of 17. I began my musical journey in Munich where I was introduced to djing and producing at the age of 14 in a youth center that had a solid studio and a dj room with two 1210’s and a bunch of vinyl. I began to mess around a few days every week after school trying to make dubstep and dnb, because that’s what I was into until I was 19 or so. When I moved to Phoenix, young Von Gold wasn’t able to do any of the cool stuff that he used to do like going to clubs, getting trashed and stuff like that. It was also really hard for me to socialize so the only things I could’ve done were playing video games and getting deeper into music production. I taught myself how to produce with countless YouTube tutorials often centered around sound design. I was introduced to the LA scene only a few years ago where I went to my first house event in LA, which was City Hearts at the Belasco. I was amazed by the whole experience and kept coming back for my house and techno party cravings Phoenix couldn’t satisfy, and all the awesome friends I’ve been making over the short time that grew to my heart and became family. For my release I wanted something dark and groovy with a lot of synth elements, something hypnotizing and energetic for the dance floor or in the car. I was very much influenced by 2016 Desert hearts spring festival specially DH resident Porky (Porkchop) who’s set was my favorite. I wanted to make something that he would enjoy playing.
About Understated / Understated Recordings:
Founded in October 2016, Understated is the event production company founded by Understated resident DJs, Micah Smith and Monsieur (Mike) Frazier (f.k.a. Sunset Groove / Frazier | Smith), and their long-time manager, Zach Piehl. The production team consists of Mekenna Ball, Menglin Ruan, Andrew Conde, and visual artist, David Gao. The company was established with the intent of creating a gathering of like-minded creatives seeking to connect via the power of music, and feed the soul by dancing the night away . Past artists booked by Understated include Mahalo, Ciszak, Durante, Masha, Deep Jesus, and PILO, as well as resident DJ, Hannah Monica. Understated Recordings is the record label managed by Andrew Conde and A&Red by the founders and production team, focusing on showcasing local Los Angeles-based electronic music talents producing house, techno, disco, and everything in between.
