Levitation Room

Levitation Room

Levitation Room is a Los Angeles garage rock and psychedelic rock group formed in 2012. The band grows out of East L.A., where its members develop a sound shaped by 1960s psychedelic music, British Invasion groups, and a strong connection to the local Chicano and Latino environment around them.

Formation and lineup

The group begins with guitarist and vocalist Julian Porte and guitarist Gabriel Fernandez, who bond over shared admiration for The Beatles, The Kinks, The Zombies and The Seeds. They first write songs together before drummer Johnathan Martin joins. After a further search, bassist Jonathan Martin becomes the fourth member. The band lineup therefore includes Julian Porte, Gabriel Fernandez, drummer Johnathan Martin, and bassist Jonathan Martin, with Julian Porte also identified as a member in the verified facts.

Sound and themes

Levitation Room is described as making hallucinatory, summer-of-love-influenced music with a gentle, dreamy character. Its songs focus on life, love and self-awareness, and its style sits within garage rock, psychedelic rock and rock.

Work and activities

The band operates with a strong do-it-yourself approach. Porte works as a street musician around Los Angeles, Fernandez works as a freelance graphic designer, and Johnathan Martin teaches drum lessons. In 2014, the group establishes Everydaze Music at the intersection of Whittier and Atlantic in East L.A. The space serves as a rehearsal room, vintage clothing shop and musical instrument depot, and functions as the centre of a wider creative co-operative that also hosts shows and events.

Levitation Room completes an early west coast tour and builds a following through live performance. The group’s first self-produced recordings are reissued by Lollipop Records, and it works on its first full-length album for Burger Records, with the writing, recording and production handled by the band itself.