House dreams

MUCH as chefs dream of serving signature creations in their restaurants, there are surely plenty of DJs who’d like to showcase their concoctions in their own clubs, right? Not exactly. Club ownership takes a lot of time and money, and most turntable talents prefer to make themselves at home for the eve, whip their crowds into a frenzy, collect their cash and leave, moving on to the next club and then the next.

Not so Isaiah Martin and Matthew Frey.

The DJ duo known as the 2 Man Group -- a wordplay on the Blue Man Group’s moniker that makes sense when you see their matching shaved heads behind the decks -- had longed for their own space ever since their Sunday night residency at Santa Monica’s Circle Bar, dubbed the Church, became a Main Street mainstay.

They found it with the Mor, right across the street at the Fro Bar, formerly the dive-esque Oar House.

Along with the business savvy and design sensibilities of partners Eric Phillips (formerly of Spundae and currently in promotions at Avalon), Michael Hart and Loren Schmalle, the wax wonders have transformed the old space into a sleek and simple Moroccan-embellished hotspot with gleaming wood bar, remodeled bathrooms and a crimson-colored, pillow-swathed genie bottle lounge.

They opened last Thanksgiving but not without difficulties. According to Martin, the Circle Bar wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of their top DJs moving across the street, although he declined to elaborate.

“My feeling was that if we brought a new space that had some great energy, that the whole area could benefit from it,” Martin says. “Main Street is one of the few places that you can actually go out in L.A. and park your car and barhop and have a good time doing it.”

These days the two bars seem to comfortably co-exist, and the neighborhood appears to be rejuvenated by the array of choices. Drive down the bustling boulevard on a Friday or Saturday night and you’ll notice hipsters spilling out of several nightspots -- World Cafe, Shane, Barcopa and O’Brien’s (adjacent to the Mor). Circle Bar and the Mor sport the longest lines.

In their new house of sounds, Martin and Frey (who goes by the DJ name Magik Fingaz), spin every Friday and Sunday, conjuring their brand of beats and electro-fied multi-era hits on six turntables. On a recent Friday, they played everything from AC/DC and Rod Stewart to Coldplay and New Order, all swirling through layers of hypnotic house rhythms.

“It’s dance music designed to tickle the back of your brain,” Martin says. “It lets people buy in because they’ve heard a lot of these songs, but never like this.”

The crowd, a mix of beach babes and casually fashionable clubbers, ate it up. Bleached blonds canoodled with goateed Gap types in the exotic red room, while dance-happy gals in halter tops danced with one another on the modestly sized floor. Although it was a bit congested, dancers were as jolly as they were jiggy, and familiar tunes were greeted by unbridled excitement throughout the room.

“They’ve always had an amazing connection with people on the dance floor -- and with each other,” says Kelly Love, a Venice local who’s been a fan of the duo for four years. “It’s almost a spiritual experience.”

2 Man Group’s intricate sets have made them hot properties, not only on their own seaside turf but in Hollywood as well. They’ve dominated dance floors at such clubs as Cinespace and the Highlands and can be seen every other week at Spundae at Circus.

A more mainstream but no less moving example of their skills can be heard on their Thump Radio show, on KBIG-FM (104.3) Mondays through Fridays from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sundays from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., when the pair mash up ‘80s new wave and modern pop faves, blending a cappella versions with progressive grooves in a free-form, mixed-on-the-fly format.

Still, Martin and Frey’s cosmic chemistry is best experienced in the flesh, and the intimate and casual environment of the Mor truly lets them -- and other DJs -- shine. Additional nights here include the earthy electro of the Moontribe crew’s “$2 Tuesdays” (formerly at Sugar), hip-hop and house from Mark Stylz on Saturdays and Phillip’s Thursday parties, showcasing turntablists.

Art exhibitions, birthday parties and a full tapas menu add to the atmosphere, which is exactly what Martin and his partners are after.

“We want it to be a plentiful place,” he says. “I mean, we named it Mor for a reason.”

Lina Lecaro can be reached at weekend@latimes.com.

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The Mor Bar

Where: 2941 Main St., Santa Monica

When: Open 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily. DJs start at 9 p.m.

Price: Cover $5 and up; 21 and older.

Info: (310) 455-6720 or www.themorbar.com