Subsoil They've played major stages from Coachella to Lightning in a Bottle to Red Bull's Soundclash, but the crew feels most at home on the surprisingly small and always packed outdoor patio at Caña Rum Bar in downtown Los Angeles.
For seven years, the revered global bass group has been bringing dancers to Sundays undergrounda summer-only, one-day dance party featuring everything from freshly created cumbia cuts to reggaeton and amapiano remixes, hip-hop turntablism, and edits of classic Mexican party anthems with live instrumentation. While Caña's small stage may be a who's who of musicians and DJs, guests have included everyone from KCRW DJs Vikter Duplaix and Anthony Valadez to They are pear-breaking and Buyepongo — Subsuelo Sundays is incredibly modest, welcoming and transgressive.
“Our thing has always been experimental and evolutionary,” says DJ Canyon Cody, co-founder of Subsuelo. “One week you have samba and another week you have dancehall. [Performing at Caña] “It gave us a chance to get back to what we do best, which is incorporating lots of different things and providing surprises.”
Above all, it is hotPeople are standing in close proximity, sweating and visibly enjoying themselves as they listen to sounds both new and familiar. It’s what draws a local hospitality worker nicknamed “La Vecinita” to the party during her breaks (if you look up at the right moment, you’ll see her dancing on an elevated catwalk) and the reason Esme Reyna held her wedding reception at Subsuelo Sundays in 2022.
“I’ve been partying and dancing with this group for over a decade,” Reyna says. “My husband and I decided to get married on a whim. We decided to have a small ceremony and celebrations on a Saturday, and then have a party with all of our local friends the following Sunday. So we asked ourselves: Why reinvent the wheel? Why not go where many of our friends will already be, or want to be? Underground Sunday.”
While the party was weekly for most of its duration, Subsuelo became a monthly event in 2024 to make room for other activities, including A new monthly pool party at the Godfrey Hotel in Hollywood and an upcoming tour. His salsa-focused August 11 party will feature Hong Kong artists. DJ Gia Fu and a DJ and store owner from Los Angeles, of Venezuelan origin. The MerchantThe final Underground Sunday of the season takes place on September 1: an 11-hour event featuring Washington, DC-based Pedro Night. Dressing party.
The crowd at Subsuelo on Sundays
(Farah Sosa)
Regardless of location, Subsuelo’s story is a study of Los Angeles culture: intersectional, evolving, and extraordinarily cool. Always dedicated to their craft, Subsuelo has achieved something increasingly rare in nightlife: longevity.
Subsuelo, the brainchild of then-roommates Cody and photographer Farah Sosa, began as a series of late-night house parties and later found a home in Love for the East Side of Boyle Heights in 2011The popular monthly party featured guests such as the Mexican Institute of Sound, Toy Selectah and Dam-Funk.
When there were “consistently more people lining up outside than inside the venue,” Cody notes, Subsuelo experimented with parties at Virgil and Los Globos, eventually finding its spiritual home at Caña.
“The venues we’ve had over the years allow for a certain level of intimacy, where we can be together in a safe space, where people can be comfortable and free and still be close and feel good about it,” says Sosa, who spends much of Subsuelo’s Sundays weaving through the crowd and crew, capturing the event’s potent energy.
The size of Caña's patio allows audiences to experience high-caliber performers up close, and those acts are often experimenting themselves.
“The most successful artists have been doing their thing for so long that it’s harder to get that tingle in your stomach,” Cody reflects. “I see them getting excited and a little nervous, in a good way, about coming to play at Subsuelo and having to do something a little bit outside of their normal performance.”
While Subsuelo performed with many of his musical heroes in his early years, most of the guests on more recent Sundays are working musicians: people who tour with big stars like Cafe Tacvba and Gloria Trevi, but don’t necessarily find success as solo artists. Many of these musical encounters are the result of Sosa’s tours around the city, where he photographs everything from the Hollywood Bowl to underground after-hours venues.
“They are stars in their own field and in their own area, but then they come here and do their thing, and they reach another audience that they didn’t reach before,” says Sosa. “At that moment, this incredible language emerges. They can showcase their talent, but with our flavors, whatever flavor is in fashion at that moment.”
Subsuelo’s style runs the gamut of global dance rhythms, but is typically Latin. Cody describes global bass as a retro-futuristic fusion genre, where sounds from the ’70s to the ’90s (including traditional cumbias, dembow, and Brazilian baile funk) are combined with contemporary hits. Dominican rappers El Alfa and Tokischa share space with Mexican artists Celso Piña and Los Tucanes de Tijuana; Cody and core member DJ Ethos often create new remixes and edits of these artists on the fly.
“It’s that kind of art that’s just for you and it’s probably never going to happen again,” says Ethos, adding that Serato Stems revolutionized the Underground team’s live mixing efforts. “I love the fact that we can create something and boomhe went away.”
Canyon Cody notes that Subsuelo has built a specific type of trust with attendees over the years; the artists read the mood and respond in kind, piquing audience interest.
“The way you show that trust is like, ‘I’ve been there for you this last hour. I’m going to push you a little bit out of your comfort zone down here for 15, 20 minutes to challenge you. And I need you to not lose faith in me, to stay in the moment and in the room, and trust that I’ll get it back. Don’t worry, there’s a Bad Bunny song coming.’”
It's true that a portion of Subsuelo's audience aren't music lovers interested in experiencing novelty tracks and interacting with the musicians in their neighborhood; they simply know that Caña is a place to have a good time. For Sosa, Subsuelo's Sundays are often an education by osmosis.
“We have many unknowns [at our parties.] And for me it is a very important element to share with people who do not know the sounds that us “At the end of the day, it’s our flavors, things that make us happy, things that make us have fun, things we enjoy listening to, dancing to, washing dishes too,” Sosa says.
But if you attend an Underground Sunday party this year, or even this month, what you hear next time will probably be different. “I always like to be a little rowdy at a party,” Cody says with a laugh.
“Our thing has always been experimental and evolutionary,” says DJ Canyon Cody, co-founder of Subsuelo. “One week you have samba and another week you have dancehall. [Performing at Caña] “It gave us a chance to get back to what we do best, which is incorporating lots of different things and providing surprises.”
(Farah Sosa)
Currently, the Subsuelo team consists of about 10 people, some of them active on a daily basis and others with varying degrees of activity depending on the party or performance. Included in the Subsuelo family are co-founding member Cristina Lucio, producer and flamenco dancer, as well as percussionist Gerardo Morales and VJ/visual artist Julián Félix. Each member has a different role, depending on the size and scope of the party.
Subsuelo has expanded its reach: Cody presents ““Alternalido” program, and Ethos represented the crew in Coachella's Sahara Tent This year, in addition to a club night called Caramelo and the semi-regular Latitude party, the crew is also working with local label Ansonia Records to remix music from their back catalogue for a new compilation.
Overall, Subsuelo is responsible for educating a generation of Angelenos. “What they bring to Los Angeles is something to be appreciated and treasured,” says Reyna, the bride who had her reception at Caña. “There’s always been a lot of emphasis on art and community, rather than just making money and everyone getting drunk. I’ve learned about a lot of DJs, types of music, and different artists through Subsuelo.”
The crew has also inspired others, including past guests, to host their own events. Cody points to locals Cumbiaton2 DEEP, Night Laggers and ForeignHe adds that he hopes Subsuelo can also be a home for people from out of town with similar sound vibes, like the established parties in Texas. Dangerous and How Low In New York.
Although the nightlife is competitive, there is room for everyone in a city like Los Angeles. “You want your colleagues to be great and you will feel elevated by what they do.” [doing]“When I see someone else do something really special, it reminds me to keep my standards high,” Cody says.
After more than a decade, Subsuelo, in its various forms, remains an exciting event for the people who make it up. “It gives us joy and we are providers of joy. We like to see people happy. We like to see them enjoy. We like to see them discover,” says Sosa.
