RØZ BRINGS THE FUTURE OF MEXICAN ELECTRONIC MUSIC TO LIFE IN LOS ANGELES
October 23, 2025
The Roxy Theatre pulsed with electricity as RØZ, the experimental Mexican electronic duo, brought their Oye, Estados Unidos tour to Los Angeles for the first official time. What unfolded wasn’t just a concert, but a meticulously crafted experience, a four-part story told through sound, light, and emotion that marked a defining moment for Mexico’s rapidly evolving electronic scene.
Formed by Manolo Cabrera and Hugo Lara, RØZ began as a creative bond in high school in Mexico City. The two shared an obsession with production, often collaborating informally while pursuing their own solo projects. Over time, their chemistry transformed into a shared vision: to create music that doesn’t just replicate trends but reinvents them. Their sound pulls from drum and bass, trap, reggaeton, UK garage, and techno; genres that, in their hands, lose borders and gain new shape. Their collaboration with Peso Pluma on “Apaga La Luz” launched them into international recognition, but it’s their unpredictable, genre-defying approach that continues to define them.
A 9:05 p.m., RØZ took the stage, stepping into a space that felt more like an art installation than a concert setup. Instruments were scattered across the floor, cables stretched in every direction, and the stage lights revealed a raw, “lived-in” environment, as if the crowd had stumbled into the duo’s studio mid-creation. Three panels stood tall behind the DJ table: the center one flashing their logo, while the two side screens displayed strobe warnings in Spanish and English. Moments later, the panels merged seamlessly into one enormous screen, revealing live footage of the duo backstage as they prepared to walk out. The transformation drew cheers from the audience, who suddenly found themselves inside the duo’s green room.
From that point on, the boundary between performer and spectator dissolved. A cameraman followed Manolo and Hugo across the stage, circling them and feeding a continuous live stream onto the massive screen. Every moment, every twist of a knob, every flash of light, was projected in real time.
The show was divided into four “tramas,” or narrative chapters, each carrying its own visual and emotional tone. The first introduced the audience to the RØZ universe, the second plunged into darker, more industrial textures, the third expanded into luminous melodies and club-ready rhythms, and the fourth erupted into full catharsis. Between tramas, the visuals shifted like cinematic transitions, highlighting specific moments in their careers intermixed with abstract imagery.
Musically, the set was relentless. RØZ guided the crowd through a range of tempos and moods, moving seamlessly between originals like “Flashes,” “Cora de Hielo,” “Apaga La Luz,” and remixed fragments of songs by Fred again…, The Neighborhood, Macklemore, and even the Black Eyed Peas. They even slipped “El Sonidito,” the Mexican party anthem, twisting it into a heavy bass drop that sent the room into a frenzy. At points, both Manolo and Hugo knelt on the floor, adding live drum hits and synth layers on the fly, as if inviting the audience to witness the act of creation itself.
Midway through, DannyLux appeared as a surprise guest, performing “The House of DannyLux” and previewing an unreleased collaboration between the two. The chemistry between all three artists was immediate with DannyLux entrancing the room with his voice, Hugo commanding the crowd with magnetic energy, and Manolo steering the mix with quiet precision.
When the fourth trama reached its close, the lights faded, the screen slowly dimmed to black, and the duo walked off the stage, a Mexican flag trailing behind them. The crowd stood suspended in that final moment, absorbing the afterglow of what they had just witnessed. RØZ’s Los Angeles debut wasn’t just a milestone for the duo; it was a statement about where Mexican electronic music is headed: bold, immersive, and impossible to ignore.
Words by Ana Oquendo
Photographed by Steven Esperanza