Ladytron lightens up in Los Angeles

When Reuben Wu and his British electro band Ladytron came to Los Angeles to finish the album “Light and Magic,” the quartet found their moody ‘80s Manchester vibe transformed by California sun. “We were driving with Joy Division in the stereo,” says Wu. “But as soon as you put it in the sunshine of L.A., it took a whole new meaning.”

The album track, “Fire,” which originally reflected the bleak industrial minimalism of Wu’s hometown of Liverpool, was subsequently given warmer layers of guitar and percussion. Ladytron made the album in L.A. rather than in that other capital of electro-clash, Berlin, hoping to get beyond nostalgia.

“We are not ‘80s revivalists,” asserts Wu. All four members of Ladytron -- including songwriter Daniel Hunt -- play analogue synthesizers, with Helena Marnie and Miro Aroyo delivering the deadpan, dreamy android vocals that also connect Ladytron to the synthetic ‘80s.

“The main thing that makes us stand out from electro-clash is that we’re a band,” says Wu. Electro-clash is more of a dance-floor scene.

Wu is on a deejay tour, including a stop at Echo Is Electro. But will Wu fall in line with their electro-clash vibe? Don’t bet on it.

-- Tommy Nguyen

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Reuben Wu plays Echo Is Electro, the Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. Saturday, 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. $12. (213) 413-8200.