Reviewed: Ascetic Limited Invites Edit Select

An email was sent out for the Edit Select show at around 8pm the night of, with only an address, entry procedure, and set times. When we had arrived late into the night, glass windows adorned in posters advertising the space as a hookah lounge served as an inconspicuous façade aside from the rumbling sounds of techno emanating from within. This is where the inaugural Ascetic Limited label held its first underground show, in the jugular of downtown Los Angeles’ gritty urban crossroads.

Ed Vertov of Stellar Remnant Records opened the evening, progressing forth with Dirty Epic’s Whipnotiq. Ascetic Limited’s residents Motionen consolidated forthcoming vinyl-only releases on their new label with a spectrum of brooding and more experimental-leaning tracks, preceding the highly anticipated spiritually rinsing cerebral journey by Edit Select. The show winded down with the return of Motionen to the decks at the witching hours of coming dawn.Born out of the continuous drive to push forth Los Angeles as an underground electronic music haven, Ascetic showcased a spectacular evening where the sound curation and attending crowd were proof that the underbelly of the techno beast is alive and well in the City of Angels. Every detail from inviting Edit Select to the Renkus-Heinz IC Squared speaker system to the label’s focus on a deeper and distinct vein of techno literally speaks volumes about the exponentially growing interest in the city’s potential to cultivate and to draw both local and international arbiters of electronic music.

In the entertainment capital of the world, it is very easy to be swept away by the over-saturation of manufactured festival dialogues, industry favors, and ego-chasing obsession in a creative craft. Ascetic provided an unpretentious and calculative subversion of Los Angeles’ club culture and catered to an equally receptive audience. The night was a reminder that Angeleno techno and its devoted listeners are here to stay, whether the world is ready or not.

Images courtesy of Christopher Soltis (@chrissoltis).