Club Tularosa: The 'Wednesday Alternative' Mix

Music

A shared love of all things Italo, post-punk and new wave brought Ray Barragan & Lionel Rifkin together. The LA-based duo, who operate under the guise of Club Tularosa, cut their teeth on the club scene in their home city, putting on parties and bringing over artists from abroad. Here they honed their skills on the warm up and carved out their own sound; an exploration of the cosmic and psychedelic corners of dance music.

Last year they made their way into production too, releasing their debut EP on Man Power's ME ME ME imprint, which exemplified the sounds they've been pushing through their DJ sets for many years.

We enlisted them to soundtrack the first Wednesday of the decade and give us a taste of what Club Tularosa is all about…

Please introduce yourself… Who are you, where are you and what are you

We are Club Tularosa, a production/dj duo based out of Los Angeles.

Where was the mix recorded?

The mix was recorded at 'Club Tularosa', our secret headquarters in the heart of Silverlake, LA.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

The ideal setting would be front-center, raving your ass off, not willing to move – so you send your friend off to get drinks.

What should we be wearing?

Someone on your shoulders, waving your shirt around… Like a helicopter.

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

Dream place to record a mix would probably have to be in a spaceship… overlooking the earth. On the Despacio soundsystem, with James Murphy behind the soundboard. Open format.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Our favorite punk-rocker; Bawrut’s remix of Kiddy Smile 😉 But seriously it's hot.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Ron Hardy live @ Musicbox Chicago 1986 (via Gridface.com)

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

Ron Hardy @ Musicbox Chicago in 1986, just so we could say we were there when house music was ‘born’.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

Virtual DJ… No mixer, no controller, everything in the box, mixing out of the master (our computer speakers). Now we have two CDJ 2000 (best year), two black Technics 1200’s, and a Taula 4 rotary mixer (white faceplate).

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

100% the track you start with. Tells people whether or not the set is worth sticking around for.

What were the first and last records you bought?

Ray: First record was Glass Candy – Miss Broadway. Last record was Takenoko – Sneaker Mixes.

Lionel: My first record was probably Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five – The Message, and my last was some Robotiko Rejekto stuff from the late 80’s.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

This mix would taste like a shot of mezcal.

If it was an animal what would it be?

A G.O.A.T.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

John Ozilla – Kandika… So we made an edit of it 😛 And just about any Sylvester song is impossible too.

Upcoming in the world of Club Tularosa…

For Q1 2020 we’ve got a Europe tour, another EP, a release on a well respected Australian compilation, and three remixes on some of our favorite labels.