San Francisco’s Dyatron Industries transcends the realms of an indie label and DJ duo. Through a deeply commited love of music and vinyl and an extensive personal collection spanning Italo Disco, Electro, Synthpop, Hip Hop and Dark Wave Rave, an otherworldly universe exists and within it you will find the Man from Dyatron (Luciano Duran) and DJ Mechanica (Vee Reyes). Two robots transplanted to Earth from the Dyatronian galaxy with a mission to sustain, preserve and honor all Italo and Electro music through live vinyl dj sets within the deep caverns of SF underground clubs and bars, a monthly show on Sutro FM and original releases/ limited reissues with wonderfully hand-drawn comics illustrated by Lu that draw us even deeper into their world. We are so thrilled to have them this month.
For this current installment, we dive deep into the galactic abyss leading us into a retro futuristic sci-fi rave. The first stop is a cosmic break dance circle with the Man from Dyatron kicking off the first hour mixing through deep 80s electro bass peppered with freestyle anthems and old school hip hop verses. The second stop, DJ Mechanica teleports us to a 90s blissful breakbeat rave Milky Way, interlaced with moments of melodic euphoria that closes with the enchantment of sunrise at the end of a party.
CST: Where are you from and where do you live now?
L: Im from the dyatronian forgotten nether region, i was reanimated by accident by the Suleraks & transferred to earth where I live now in San Francisco
V: I’m originally from the Dyatronian galaxy. I was a mechanoid created by The Man From Dyatron but I was also transferred to earth in San Francisco along with the The Man From Dyatron by the Suleraks (powerful beings from the Dyatronian galaxy).
CST: Introvert or extrovert?
L: Absolutely introvert, those that know me might be surprised i am usually in hibernation mode!
V:I think I’m a mixture of the two, I like the balance! I see myself as an introvert but I certainly enjoy socializing!
CST: Whats your sign?
L: Libra
V: Sagittarius all the way!
CST: what is your favorite record/music shop?
L: Local little record stores are the best, I realize they are rare but if you have one, support it! Even online there are small indie dependable vinyl stores
V: I do love brick & border indie stores best. I know they are a rarity nowadays compared to prior times, but yea they still are the ones with magic!
CST: what is your morning ritual?
L: I sleep in my space sarcophagous, every morning i first do a ritual dance when i rise, then i make me a nice cup of joe
V: I'm quite mellow, I’ll go about my routine & you won’t even know I’m there! I’ll grab a fruit snack and a cup of tea instead of coffee though.
CST: What is your dream lineup for a party and what would you name this party?
L: Sensor Hunter 3, the lineup would be totally secret each performer assigned a number, wearing comfy masks, no interaction between djs & people, each dj would get interrogated by our robot before the operation as to why they want to play each record, participants would then be scored as to "transformative quotient of set" from 1 to 10, the top 5 would get to spin. sounds very Squid game now that i think of it, yikes!
V: Hmm, I would call it Sensor Hunter. All in attendance must dress in some form of gothic, new romantic, or sci-fi influenced, or wild rave attire, there would be projections of old rare stuff from our Dyatron Industries video collections on every wall, of course it would be in an elegant abandoned gothic style church building or castle, the music would consist of a variety of styles- such as rare dark synth wave, italo, synthpop, electro, rave, etc. the djs would be secret!
CST: What parties/underground/diy spaces did you go to when you first started partying/discovering music?
L: I think in my mind even as a lil kid i fancied my self a type of selector or dj even before i knew what that was, i would make mix tapes for myself and others all the time just being so into it lol, its been something thats been with me all my life, growing organically with me, i naturally like to find stuff in off-the-beaten track radio shows, lil pubs, lil record shops. Im actually always surprised how Im still doin this stuff.
V: We would check out local underground goth clubs, early rave parties, keep in mind back then "rave" was a very radical thing. The parties played and exposed people to all kinds of stuff you could not hear or get elsewhere-I’m talking rock, hip-hop, electro, European records, music from other cities that never got airplay etc. even the lifestyles. The earlier college or underground radio shows also had some of this essence back then.
CST: What was the first record/music you ever bought?
L: As a lil kid I bought a Kraftwerk record lol cause it looked cool to me, i had not heard it just read the titles & looked at them and i was sold. I must have been about 7 or 8. I was into the pop stuff of course but when the early italo & electro started poppin up here & there I was blown away & became a fan immediately even though i could not afford much of it lol
V: It was Kraftwerk’s The Telephone Call 1987 release with the German version. I was 12 years old when I bought it at the neighborhood/downtown record shop.
CST: Where was the first party/underground show you ever went to?
L: Hmm, in Mexico, Italo & synth pop were huge in the early 80s, I think many folks were exposed to this then there cause it was everywhere for a window there! That def influenced me a lot, also I gotta say late night cable tv (night flight show) & indie radio stations both in Mexico & the states exposed me to lots of stuff late at night !
V: The Twilight Zone in Alameda and those early bay area raves in 90’s. As teens we would love hitting those up, we would see the coolest fashions, hear new ideas, dope music, it was so influential!
CST: What are you reading right now?
L: Humanoid Encounters 1AD-1899 By Rosales
James Warren Empire of Monsters by Will Schelly
V: The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan, bought it at my last visit to the Goodwill.
CST: What are your other interests besides djing/collecting music?
L: i love drawing & painting, Im into parapsychology, but not necessarily into conspiracy theories as i see them as dangerous mostly
V: I love making arts & crafts projects like homemade accessories. I make little cats and dogs pins and also tiaras with pipe cleaners. It’s really fun and therapeutic.
CST: Biggest vice?
L: I need a decent cup of coffee everyday, I think without it, I would probably turn into a super villain like dr doom or somethin
V: The vinyl addiction, it can be. It’s very hard to stop looking and buying records. This is same for The Man From Dyatron (Mechanica’s husband). We are running out of places to put them at home. It’s scary to think when we will have to move to obtain more space for all these records we continue acquiring, what a daunting task!
CST: Happiest moment?
L: When the Dyatronian forces hit the enemy SIMNETIX clone machine and obliterated it to bits! that act spared this quadrant of our timeline for a few years at least from the vile mind control experiments !
V: When the Man from Dyatron married Mechanica and together they traveled the galaxies looking for the most amazing rare records to spin on earth.
CST: Favorite part of the day?
L: Late night, when large parts of the population sleeping, there seems to be less chaotic energies. I know we need sunlight, but there is def something special about say 10pm to 1am
V: I like the late afternoons between 5:30pm-6:30pm when Luciano (TMFD) and I walk to the nearby doggie park and say Hi to our doggie pals Frank the wiener dog, Baby the chihuahua, Lenny three legged recued mutt, Mello the husky, Coco the bulldog, Remi the little Italian hound, and many more. Dogs are so funny and lovable.
CST: Do you collect anything else aside from records/music?
L: i collect some fashion stuff, I specially like stuff that has science fiction elements; oh yea and some old comics.
V: I like to collect flower fiber optic music lamps from the 80’s, and rare vintage animations from Europe, Asia, and Middle East, I love very old things.
CST: where is your favorite place to dance/listen/watch music?
L: I always feel the place i reside is more like a command headquarters lol, like a laboratory, so being at home being able to go in and out of genres etc is for me ideal, i think when i play records i go into an imaginerary place so i dont need to be in a "real" place lol, fantasy is good enough for me lol.
I thnk the " social aspect" of djing for me is an added bonus to the thing, although i realize that for many djs its ' the main thing", but yea im into it as an introverted thing, hence why i often relate more to those more intimate, private type of events, like big stadium raves are kinda weird, for me , a small group in a small space is ideal, thats a very antiquated idea these days! everyone wants larger and larger events, but yea i like the idea of smaller, more tailored, more exclusive, more curated things, thats not elitist it is just more focused thats all, otherwise its just too generalized , thats my feelin most of the time on that, not everything has to be for everyone all the time, its ok to be different, to be ourselves. Also in small level stuff, you can get more raw, loose, make mistakes, etc, i actually like it that way
V: I can dance, listen, & watch music anywhere anytime really! Friends’ events or Dyatron Industries events are the best- you know how much love and care gets put into those, but of course sometimes even just hitting up some random event can get you grooving!
CST: is there a concept or theme for this mix and if so, can you tell us about it a little bit more about it?
L: Being involved with Cone Shape Top got me thinking how how special this is, we explored about CST, i think its fascinating how people such as ourselves seek each other out, that is the essense of this mix, i sorta walked around just pullin some records from the shelves that immediately gave me that "yea this is going in the mix" immediate vibe.
V: We feel an affinity to Cone Shape Top who’ve expressed their appreciation for rave culture & that was my inspiration, so I wanted to dig up some old school 90’s rave anthems-never gets old even if we do!
