Those looking to take a Friday road trip without leaving the house would do well to get behind the virtual wheel for “L.A. Takedown.”

The new, single-track instrumental album by the Los Angeles-based artist Aaron M. Olson (who also records under the name L.A. Takedown) runs 41-plus minutes and like Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn,” the composition has a cinematic vibe that lends itself well to visuals. On Olson’s website, the work plays in a continuous loop over videos of L.A. sunsets in real time, and the result is an experience that conjures a distinctly local vibe. You halfway expect the track to make a pit stop at Ed Ruscha’s iconic Standard gas station.

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Kraftwerk and its experimental peers in the so-called Krautrock movement of the early 1970s are the obvious touchstone here. Navigating musical curves and straightaways with the smoothness of a Tesla rolling along Pacific Coast Highway, the track is driven by the so-called “motorik” beat, which propelled many great German jams as well as influencing tracks by the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Wilco and Queens of the Stone Age.


This rhythm is complemented by Ratatat-suggestive guitar runs and haunting bent notes, and Olson wisely takes instrumental detours that at choice moments lead down quiet pathways. These diversions give the track some breathing room, and moments of near-silence that suggest interludes between movements.

Like Ricardo Villalobos’ epic of minimalist techno, “Fizheuer Zieheuer,” or Sleep’s hour-long stoner-rock jam “Dopesmoker,” the sheer length of “L.A. Takedown” gives it a certain weight. But its relentless drive and fascinating sonic architecture also lend it depth, and the result is a work that seems to loop through the hills, valleys and grids of Los Angeles.

L.A. Takedown the group has been celebrating the release of its record for the past few months, and Olson has assembled a crack band to perform it. In the wake of a residency at Pehrspace and a sundown set on the roof of the Ace Hotel, the band will showcase the music at Permanent Records (relocated from Gnarburger) in Highland Park on Friday at 7 p.m. It will also be selling copies of the just-released vinyl version.


Though the full “L.A. Takedown” track can be heard at the official website, for the full effect download the free high-resolution .wav file and explore its many intricacies.

Follow me on Twitter: @liledit

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