ABOVE THE SCENE (LP)
Alan Nakagawa
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Thursday, August 13, 2026
LA Artcore | 120 Judge John Aiso St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
DESCRIPTION
Above the Scene is Nakagawa’s portrait of Upstairs Lounge (1994 - 2018), a St. Louis underground dance club that was one of largest community for House Music in the Midwest.
BACKGROUND
Nakagawa was introduced to the legacy of Upstairs Lounge in early 2025, having been invited to participate in the Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time. Since then he has taken a deep dive into the history and music of House and beyond and has documented the oral histories of fifty-seven Upstairs Lounge DJs, staff, family and patrons.
The LP is part of inter-disciplinary project for Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time., titled “FUTURE HOUSE HEADS, THIS WAS TU’S HOUSE” which will consist of 1) an mural and sound installation/ mobile oral history studio, 2) a database of Upstairs Lounge community history and 3) Above the Scene (LP), a sound portrait of Upstairs Lounge.
Upstairs Lounge’s proprietor, Tu Tien Tran organically built Upstairs Lounge with the St Louis music community as an underground club that was as welcoming as it was secretive. The main ethos was creative freedom and eventually it became a go to spot for DJ’s from around the world. In 2018, Tu Tien Tran passed away suddenly and within months Upstairs Lounge closed.
Each track on Above the Scene is a music portrait of an object that was referenced in many of the oral history recordings he conducted. For instance, many DJ’s recalled the building of the suspended DJ Booth, the first of its kind in St Louis, so there’s a track titled DJ Booth.
Inspired by all of the oral histories, a dozen books about dance music culture and early House music purchased during his research, Nakagawa built music tracks. All music on this LP is composed and performed by Nakagawa, except the Cornet tracks which are by Dan Clucas.In between tracks are excerpts from the fifty-seven oral histories.
FUTURE HOUSE HEADS, THIS WAS TU’S HOUSE is part of Nakagawa’s oral history-based project for the Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time, a triennial exhibition reimagining the possibilities of art in public life. Special thanks to Nora N. Khan, Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time Curatorial Collective.
Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time takes place this year from September to December across St. Louis, MO. For more information: counterpublic.org
Purchasing the LP at the event:
It’s well documented that House Music was originally created by the Queer African American community in Chicago. To honor this origin, the profits from the LP sales will go directly to Metropolitan Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG), a St. Louis Trans community service non-profit.
LPs will be for sale @ $20 at this event
It is a limited edition.
Proof of a $20 donation to MTUG, gets you one LP.
Go to www.stlmetrotrans.org
Click “Support Us”
Make a “one time” donation of $20
Under “write us a note”, please write “Above the Scene LP”
Come to this event and your donation receipt gets you one LP as supplies last
Thank you
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For more details about Future House heads This Was Tu’s House: LINK
