No Age have been one of Drowned In Sound's favourite forces of new music over the past ten years. As part of their takeover to celebrate the release of their new album, Everything Inbetween, the LA based duo took us on a tour of their favourite places in their home city...
Dreams Records, Eagle Rock
I found this record store near my house called 'Dreams'.
There is a sign out front that says "Cd's, Records, Tapes" but it's located in a normal house. The owner moved here from El Salvador and opened it recently. He used to DJ freestyle, house, electro, and new wave in the 90's, and also has a lot of traditional latin and pop music.
This place is the hidden weirdo secret spot.
Ooga Booga, Chinatown
Hands down the coolest store in Los Angeles.
Wendy Yao and crew keep a well stocked realm for you to go nuts: Zines, art books, mixtapes from Calvin Johnson, vinyl, Opening Ceremony, Ceramic Apples, Hand-made perfume etc. The best stuff. And they are always on top of the store, so it always has what you need.
The 2 Freeway:
I love riding my motorcycle up the 2 freeway just north of downtown Los Angeles. Once you pass the 210 freeway you can continue up into the mountains. It is only 20 minutes out of town but you feel like you are totally in the middle of nowhere. It can get stressful being stuck in city traffic all the time. So when ever I get a chance, I meet up with friends and take off up the 2 and get lost up in the mountains.
The Gold line:
Los Angeles is not know for being a city with great public transportation, but the Gold line rules! It is part of the above ground Metro system that runs from Downtown LA to Pasadena. For people not from LA this might not sound like a big deal but before the Gold line was running you would have to wait forever in bumper to bumper traffic to get from Downtown to Pasadena. Recently I took the Gold line from my house to the FYF Fest. It only took me 10 minutes and I didn't have to worry about finding a parking space or paying for parking. Living in LA can mean spending a lot of time in your car, but there are tons of other options that are cheap and convenient.