Global Sounds of Par Avion

International jet-setting may not seem like the best idea under current global circumstances. There is an alternative, however. On Saturday nights in the AlterKnit Lounge of the Knitting Factory, the DJs of Par Avion bring the rest of the world to Los Angeles.

Par Avion, the brainchild of Christopher Graper (a.k.a. DJ Soju), took off as a series of parties last year, but none of the locales worked out. In May 2001, Par Avion landed at the AlterKnit Lounge, the secondary stage at the trendy Knitting Factory in Hollywood. After securing a coveted Saturday night spot each week, Graper and a slew of guest DJs embark on setting the standard for an underground global pop club.

The Knitting Factory, true to its New York roots, is moody and atmospheric. Dark wood paneling lines the walls of the main room and bar. The people taking admission do so in a large metal cage in the middle of the room. Computers are available for visitors to search the Internet if the surroundings aren’t entertaining enough.

In the AlterKnit Lounge, a space in the back of the club that’s no larger than 50 feet square, the DJs have amassed such a stack of electronic equipment that the room looks as much like a recording studio as a nightclub. Thirty chairs and a black leather couch surround the dance floor. On the tables small white candles flicker to the beat of Primal Scream blasting through the sound system. The song’s intro triggers clapping from a group of Japanese girls with cropped hair and bow-tie dresses.

The cheerful faces that fill up the room are as varied as the music being played. Several sleek boys with suits, long sideburns and ‘60s glasses gaze at the green and blue stage lights. At the bar, a riot girl chuckles in the pause of the song. A young man in a baseball jersey sits sipping his Rolling Rock. The styles vary, but the music has a universal lure. A soft and soothing Stereolab song melts into Towa Tei’s “Batucada,” a Brazilian number that beckons everyone’s hips to rock back and forth. No one in the room is immune to the beat and that’s just the point.

“My only real intentions in starting Par Avion was simply to throw parties where people can have a really amazing time dancing to fantastic and interesting global pop music in a comfortable setting,” Graper says.

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Originally from Montreal, he is one of several DJs who spin on a given night, and Par Avion reflects his own musical tastes. The list of current favorites include everything from Japanese, French, Spanish, South American, Icelandic, Swedish, Cantonese and Brazilian pop hits to indie American and British music. AM radio tunes from the ‘60s and ‘70s also get some fresh air on the dance floor.

The other DJs add their own nuances to Par Avion’s international appeal. Alex Baker (a.k.a. DJ Orange, formerly of San Francisco’s Bardot-a-Go-Go) might spin Charlotte Leslie’s “Les Filles C’est Fait,” then Leigh Stevens’ “Jumping Jack Flash.” Maurice de la Falaise (a.k.a. Mauriceeo), who previously presided over the indie rooms of the Naza Space Club in Tijuana, leans toward Japan’s Takako Minekawa, Spain’s La Buena Vida and Germany’s Stereo Total. Angeleno Cody Alder (a.k.a. DJ Cody) tends to grab Basement Jaxx, Konishi Yasuharu, Le Tigre and ‘N Sync.

The DJs stay true to a dual mission: Keep it interesting, and don’t play what’s being heard in other clubs. Graper’s goals are larger. He’s inviting patrons to participate in, rather than just visit, the club. He’s started a Par Avion Web site and magazine, and encourages freelance photographers to shoot each week’s events. The music is the launching pad, but Graper wants a whole scene to take flight.

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Par Avion, Oct. 27 and alternate Saturdays thereafter at the Alter-Knit Lounge, Knitting Factory Hollywood, 7021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 463-0204. All ages. $3 before 11 p.m., $5 after.