Los Angeles

Life in the Mexican capital throws up many obstacles, but a small number of dedicated people are trying to build an electronic music scene in one of the world's most chaotic cities.

To most of us, a police ban on dancing sounds like the stuff of dystopian nightmares, but in this episode of "Real Scenes," we see how this is a reality for people in the Japanese capital.

Not too long ago it looked like New York's glory days as a center for dance music had passed. As the birthplace of disco and hip-hop and the home of legendary nightclubs like the Paradise Garage, Limelight, and Twilo, the city has long been part of the cultural fabric. But as the notoriously grimy city of the late 20th century transformed into the sleek and hyper-gentrified metropolis of today, its thriving underground lost its foothold.

A few years ago The New York Times and Le Monde were declaring the death of clubbing in Paris. It was a dark moment for a city that has at times stood alongside London, New York, and Berlin as one of the capitals of electronic music. With names like Laurent Garnier, Daft Punk, and Justice leading the way, Paris has seemingly always been a flashpoint for a unique spin on house and techno.

The eyes of the world have turned to the UK in recent years and have found some of the most exciting, genre-defying young artists to emerge from electronic music. But while London's scene can be fractious and hard to pin down, there seems to be something in the air in Bristol that unites its participants.

"Real Scenes" takes a trip to the birthplace of techno.

In fall of 2015, RA crisscrossed Los Angeles' neighborhoods, gathering the perspectives of artists, promoters, record shop owners and historians on topics such as mainstream vs. underground music culture, the resurgence of Downtown LA, the West as a haven for free-thinking experimentalism, and the unexpected opportunities afforded by the city's vast sprawl. Alongside the documentary, RA also captured performances from a couple of the film's subjects. Gifted & Blessed is an Inglewood resident with roots in hip-hop who makes hypnotic, new age dance music.