LA Riots Swerves Into Bass-Laden Tech Territory on ‘House Philosophy / Ladies Man’ EP on IN / ROTATION

LA Riots (Daniel LeDisko and John O’Brien) were not playing when they selected a name fraught with tension. It was their aim to throw a wrench in the sonic scene of the early 2000s. In 2007, they did just that with a raucous mashup of indie rock, electro, and hip-hop. The brash sound resulted in remixes for everyone including Chromeo, Justice, Lady Gaga, Ting Tings, Tricky and Weezer, as well as tours with the Bloody Beetroots, the Chemical Brothers, and MSTRKFT. They soon became regulars on Fool’s Gold, Dim Mak, and Spinnin’ Records, as well as at almost any festival you can name.

In the last few years, however, they have swerved away from EDM, working more bass-laden tech house into their productions. All of which brings us to the end of 2017, a year rife with tension and changes, and what do you know—LA Riots is still kicking out the jams. We caught up with them for a quick Q&A to celebrate their new House Philosophy / Ladies Man EP on Insomniac’s IN / ROTATION label.

There’s an X-Press 2/Junior Boys Own, circa late ‘80s/early-‘90s vibe on this track—the chunky bass, the machine-gun drumroll buildups, the jazzy disco hi-hats. Were they an influence?
We were definitely thinking early-‘90s vibes in general with this record. It honestly wasn’t that specific, though—just grooving out in the studio, wanting to make a good, driving house record, letting one idea lead to another.

You tested a new track, “Do Your Thing,” in D.C. on November 25. It made nice use of the horn sample from Lafayette Afro Rock Band’s “Darkest Light” and gives your track an exotic vibe. How’d that idea come about?
The sample came from kicking around hook ideas for the breakdown; you’re always looking for something catchy there to give the track a solid identity. That sample fit the bill. It’s nice and hooky and memorable, and also drawn out and not too repetitive—gives a nice sense of space and feeling to contrast the driving beat throughout the track.

Your sound has evolved from the early years (2007/2008) indie rock/electro vibe to include more bass, house, and tech house, even.
This post-EDM period we’re in has been great for us creatively. It’s allowed us to get back to our roots in dance music. The DJ sets have definitely shaped our direction. We’ve always focused on solid, creative mixing—and right now, making music specifically, to set us up for what we’re after.

Given all the harassment stories in the news in 2017, what do you think the idea of a ladies’ man should be going forward?
Anyone who has to harass to get girls’ attention is the opposite of a ladies’ man, really. Those guys are predators, plain and simple.

Since we’re in the middle of the year-end holiday season, in hindsight, what are you grateful for this year, and what are you looking forward to in 2018?
Grateful for all the progress we’ve made this year, and looking forward to seeing it all unfold! We have some releases forthcoming on Country Club Disco (Golf Clap’s label), Psycho Disco (Treasure Fingers’ label), Spinnin’, Sweat It Out!, and we are finishing up a remix for Naations at the moment.

Follow LA Riots on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud
Follow IN / ROTATION on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud