As the house and techno genres’ mainstream popularity grows, the market for dance music events continues to become increasingly crowded. Los Angeles’ seemingly underdeveloped underground music infrastructure, including 2AM call times and a scarcity of dance music establishments, combined with the saturated market has pushed event organizers to harness creativity and inventiveness as they attempt to craft distinguishing event experiences.

Consistently pushing the boundaries of traditional nightlife in the city is Stranger Than;, a Los Angeles based event collective revered for transforming culturally and historically significant urban locations into house and techno event havens.

Pioneers of uncharted venue territory, Stranger Than; are responsible for debuting unique urban locations for dance music events throughout LA such as Grand Park on the steps of City Hall, El Pueblo in front of Union Station, Ace Mission Studios at the foot of DTLA’s 4th street bridge, and most recently Cabrillo Beach. 

Stranger Than; now regularly produces leading events in various locales in addition to LA including Austin, Miami, and NYC and has positioned itself as a premiere stateside partner for global institutions such as CircoLoco and most recently famed Burning Man soundcamp Mayan Warrior.

On par with their visionary approach to producing events, Stranger Than; recently hosted Stranger Than; Beach Party- one of LA’s only large-scale electronic music events to take place directly beachfront at the historic Cabrillo Beach. The revolutionary show featured a rare b2b set from Innervisions labelheads Dixon and Âme, in addition to eclectic sets from Jimi Jules and Tony y Not as partygoers enjoyed direct access to the ocean and jaw dropping production.

We spoke with Stranger Than’s founder Tal Ohana following the event about his location scouting process, the current state of the scene in Los Angeles, and more.

‍Stranger Than; is responsible for debuting numerous urban LA venues, used by many promoters to follow in the wake of these groundbreaking shows. How would you describe the impact this has had on LA’s dance community? ‍

Many of the locations Stranger Than; utilizes for our events are not traditionally used as venues or meant to host any scale of production. Whether it’s through scouting locations on Google Earth or merely driving around Downtown Los Angeles looking at areas through a creative production lens, we see urban environments as blank canvases that allow us to create otherworldly atmospheres for our parties. I believe Stranger Than;’s impact has encouraged creativity amongst other promoters and event collectives as they are inspired to think outside the box and find locations with similar qualities. Stranger Than; has consequently unlocked a new world of opportunity to produce events in unconventional areas and we continue to push the boundaries of what can be categorized as an event space.‍

How do you think producing events at such unique and often historically significant locations affects the vibe of the show and experience?‍

Producing events at such unique and historically significant locations allows us to bring in an atmospheric component to our shows that cannot be replicated or recreated. Even when using the same venue twice, the experience we craft will never be the same for attendees. We strategically design elements such as lighting and full layout from entrance to exit to fit each individual location and drastically change these factors for every event to create a brand new experience for every attendee. ‍

Walk us through your location scouting process and the steps required to produce an event in urban environments that aren’t typically used as venues‍

The first time we debuted an urban environment as a location rather than utilizing a traditional venue was in 2018 when Stranger Than; was approached to produce the first Mayan Warrior fundraiser on the west coast. Within two months, we had to find a location large enough to accommodate the massive mobile art car which was nearly impossible. After driving around Downtown Los Angeles and searching aerially on Google Earth we found a large green open-air space in front of the iconic City Hall building. After spotting the location, we had to find out who was in charge of the area, how to rent the space from the city, what permits were needed and if it was even possible to use. Once we found out it was possible, I was introduced to a TV and film location scout who to this day assists us in location scouting and securing permits for our events.

What are some of the most important elements you consider when designing experiential events? ‍

Building an event layout at a location that isn’t meant to accommodate a large crowd is crucial, not only for the success of the event but also for the safety of the attendees which is always our number one priority. Additionally planning sound and light in these circumstances are quite difficult as well considering echoes, surrounding street lights and other minor details so we enlist sound engineers in each space.‍

What are some of your personal favorite venue locations you’ve used?‍

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but after the debut of Mayan Warrior in 2018 at Grand Park, we had the opportunity to work with Black Coffee and use a very special venue: the Los Angeles Theatre. The LA Theatre hasn’t ever been used for concerts or dance music events since opening in the 1930s as the same original architecture and design remains intact from over 90 years ago meaning there was no dance floor space. We had to completely remove all the seats and build a dance floor out of steel decking. When you walk into the LA Theatre you feel like you are back in time. It was truly a special evening as it has been the only time that the LA Theatre hosted an event like ours. We’re not sure if that will ever happen again, but do plan on making a reappearance sometime in our production career.‍

Stranger Than; recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. How have Stranger Than; events evolved over the years from a production perspective?‍

The concept of ST;  has always been to think outside the box; our goal was more than just filling a dance floor with a simple sound system and having a DJ play. The objective was to craft peak experiences and production in spaces that have not been done before. This concept has been a consistency within Stranger Than; to this day. Our NY debut happened in October 2017 in conjunction with the Keinemusik US debut. As the events we chose to throw became larger, the production grew simultaneously. In 2018, our production tactics were boosted by the Mayan Warrior team as we debuted the LA fundraiser. The high quality, mass production and attention to detail learned from Mayan Warrior was essential for Stranger Than;’s evolution. Being able to work side by side with Pablo Gonzales Vargas and Mayan Warrior’s creative and production team was greatly inspirational and instrumental in showing there are no limits to production and what we can do.

Stranger Than; regularly produces events in NYC, Austin, and Miami as well. What differentiates the LA market from other locales?‍

The Los Angeles market is very different from cities like New York, Austin and Miami, mainly due to LA’s strict 2AM closing times. NY’s later hours of Teksupport’s massive warehouse shows are not currently possible or legally able to permit. Fortunately Los Angeles is the mecca to TV and film productions which has also opened the door to additional leanincy on street closures that you will not see in these other markets.  Los Angeles has proven to be a day time city, where events are typically held until midnight. There’s also a lack of mid size venues; the sizes drastically range from nightclubs to stadiums. Due to these restrictions, we had to become more creative which opened up a beautiful door for the city and music industry in Los Angeles, showing us that we’re able to create comparable urban venues to larger-scale traditional venues promoters in other markets readily had access to. ‍

Your event, Stranger Than; Beach Party, is one of the only large-scale electronic music events to take place on the sand at a beach in LA. How did you get the idea to use Cabrillo Beach?‍

The rarity within our music industry hosting events on a beach in a beach city motivated us to get out there and make this experience happen. Finding the location was the first of many steps. Neighborhood outreach, detailed safety and production planning among other factors operates at higher level for locations that have never been used before. 

‍What else is coming up this year for Stranger Than;? Any other events we should have on our radar?‍

Many new and exciting announcements are coming; along with some of our annual favorites across the country to include some new location debuts and exciting artists. Additionally a massive return to one of our all time favorite LA locations will be announced in the near future.

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Photographed by Christian Villareal.