Juliet Mendoza's City Selects: The Sounds Shaping Los Angeles

I chose Damar Davis because he represents something I really value about the Los Angeles underground: an artist developing his own sound while also creating spaces for other people to experience and discover music. Damar is an LA based DJ, producer, and the founder of Salon Recordings, with a musical approach that moves through the deeper and jazzier sides of house while pulling from R&B, hip hop, and other forms of dance music. His relationship with rhythm also goes deeper than DJing- he grew up around musicians, originally came to Los Angeles to pursue music as a drummer, and eventually moved toward production and DJing as a way to create and own his musical expression. He also hosts Say Less on Dublab, where that same philosophy comes through less talking, more movement, with house, electronic music, jazz, hip hop, and other sounds meeting each other. With "EXODUS", I hear that rhythmic identity immediately. The Afro House foundation gives the track movement, but what I connect with most is the feeling and musicality underneath it. Damar isn't just releasing records, through Salon Recordings, radio, parties, and his own productions, he's helping build another piece of LA's dance music ecosystem. That's exactly the kind of artist and community builder I wanted represented here.

Marie Nyx represents the darker, experimental, and forward thinking side of the Los Angeles underground that I think is equally important to the identity of this city. She's an LA based DJ, producer, and label founder whose sound moves between electro, techno, and experimental electronic music, and she has built a presence across Southern California's underground as well as larger festival spaces. What I appreciate about Marie is that she isn't afraid to create from the edges. There is an intensity and fearlessness to her music, but there is also intention behind the world she's building. In 2025, she founded Synr Records, an independent queer-centered label focused on electro, techno, EBM, and experimental sounds, creating a platform for music and artists that don't necessarily need to fit into conventional spaces. "Once in a Blood Moon" from her Shades of Red EP, captures that perfectly for me. The track has this raw, futuristic electro energy that feels dark and powerful but still makes you want to move. Marie's work reminds me that contributing to a scene isn't only about the records you make or the stages you play- it's also about creating space, taking risks, and giving other artists and communities somewhere to exist. That's an important part of what keeps underground culture alive and evolving.

I included my own track, "So Good", because it represents where I am creatively right now and the world I'm continuing to build through my label, Spiritual Systems. My roots as a DJ are deeply connected to Los Angeles, but my musical identity has also been shaped by the sounds and artists rooted in Chicago, Detroit, and New York who brought their music, history, and culture to LA dance floors. House music has always been bigger than a genre to me- it comes from Black and Brown creativity, community, dance, freedom, and the spaces people created to be themselves. Being exposed to those different musical lineages in Los Angeles helped me understand that our city's electronic music community is bigger than one sound or one place. It's a meeting point where histories and cultures can connect and become something new. As a DJ and dancer, I've always experienced music through movement first, and that continues to influence the records I play, the music I make, and the spaces I want to create. Spiritual Systems is an extension of that journey. It's a platform for music with soul, intention, freedom, and connection while honoring where this culture comes from. “So Good” carries that energy for me: deep house grounded in groove and feeling, while honoring the musical roots that continue to inspire what I do today.

Errol Bangz immediately stood out to me because his sound feels connected to Los Angeles in a completely different way. Born and raised in South Central LA, he's a DJ and producer whose musical world brings together house and electronic music with West Coast hip hop, funk, R&B, and soul. He also has a musical background that started young through church choir and playing multiple instruments, and I think you can hear that wider musical vocabulary in the personality of his productions. “Get It Guurl” is exactly what caught my attention because it gives me those LA funk roots meeting house and electro. It's playful, funky, confident, and full of character. Los Angeles has such a deep relationship with funk, hip-hop, soul, and dance music, and I love hearing a younger artist pull from that history without making it feel nostalgic. Errol takes those influences and pushes them into his own electronic language. He's already shared stages with artists like Channel Tres and Andre Power, while his music has received support from respected names in dance music including Honey Dijon, DJ Pierre, and Jamie Jones. To me, that's what makes him exciting; he's not trying to erase where he's from in order to exist in electronic music. He's bringing South Central, West Coast musical history, and his own personality into the conversation and creating a lane that sounds like him.

I chose “6AM” because it represents another side of the Los Angeles house music story- the moment when a locally rooted artist's sound travels outward and connects with artists and dance floors beyond the city. Kyle Walker came up through the LA house scene and has developed a sound that moves between deep, melodic, and tech-leaning house while building an international career around it. What I also respect is that he's taken that growth and created his own platform through Dub or Die, giving him another way to shape his musical identity beyond simply releasing records. “6AM” brings Kyle together with Birmingham, UK duo RUZE, and that exchange is part of what makes the track interesting to me. You hear deep house chords, R&B-influenced vocal moments, warm low end, and a groove designed for that point in the night when nobody wants the dance floor to end. The record had actually been circulating in Kyle and RUZE's sets before its official release, which speaks to how naturally it works in a club environment. For me, “6AM” represents what happens when different cities and musical perspectives meet through house music. Kyle's journey from LA clubs to major stages while continuing to release music through his own imprint shows another path for artists coming from this city: build your sound, create your own platform, take it beyond Los Angeles, and then keep feeding that energy back into the culture.

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