HEAR THIS: L.A. Takedown

It’s somewhat puzzling to be coming across L.A. Takedown by sifting through largely obscure Bandcamp profiles at the edges of the internet, and not from the opening scene of a popularly vintage-flavored Hollywood blockbuster. Named after the made-for-TV flick that eventually became Heat, LA Takedown is Aaron M. Olson, who alone crafts cinematic instrumentals that mix proggy space-jams with synthetic 1980s feel (think Yes taking a bath in Tangerine Dream‘s soundtrack to Miracle Mile). The epic “Heatwave” is especially exhilarating, and the obvious candidate for an actual movie theme. Given it’s conceptual origins, Olson’s music is an apt tribute to somber ‘80s crime drama, and—most importantly—the city that birthed it.