10 OctOber 9-15, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | bumping into A-listers in the smoothie line in person. New Times has requested comment from Erewhon — so technically, there’s still a chance a real location could be on the horizon. For the uninitiated, Erewhon is what would happen if Fresh Market and Pura Vida had a baby, then sprinkled in a dash of Grove Grocer (if you know, you know). It’s equal parts curated groceries, Instagram bait, and a lifestyle brand disguised as a health market. Founded in the 1960s as a small macrobiotic shop, Erewhon has evolved into a million-dollar empire with ten L.A. locations and an influence that extends far beyond its overpriced adaptogenic ton- ics. It’s gone so mainstream and viral that even smoothie spots down in South Florida, like Garden Butcher in Boca Raton, are copying its aesthetics and vibe. If Erewhon were to open in Miami, you can already picture the crowd: affluent Brickell girls in oversized sweatshirts and biker shorts ordering smoothies before Pi- lates, uppity Sunset Harbour couples de- bating between sea moss gels, hot Alo-clad men and women, living in Midtown making Erewhon their personality, and of course, the Bal Harbour moms. You know the type: perfectly blown-out hair, Cartier love brace- lets stacked up to their elbows, casually dropping $150 on coconut yogurt and raw honey while debating which Hermès tote matches their Erewhon haul. So, is Erewhon actually opening in Miami? Not yet. However, the buzz — and the definite shipping option — might just be the first step. Until then, we’ll settle for overnighted smoothies instead of celeb sightings in the produce aisle. NICOLE LOPEZ-ALVAR Erewhon photo Celebrity grocery store and expensive smoothie spot Erewhon might be coming to Miami. True Live Catch Demian Licht’s MiDi magic at Gramps. BY GRANT ALBERT I t couldn’t have been more than five minutes before Demian Licht (real name Luz González Torres) was show- ing me her coveted possession: a one- of-a-kind Yaeltex MiDi controller with an Instinkt design. Its bulbous knobs and but- tons lacked numbers or values and resembled a contemporary art piece more than hard- ware. If you were to use it, you would have noth- ing to guide you but your instinct on what may be too soft or loud, too much or too little. Licht, however, loves nothing more than us- ing her instincts to guide her music. “It’s named Instinkt because I cannot see the values,” She explains to New Times from her home in Querétaro, Mexico. “It requires me to be confident with the sound I’m mak- ing. I have to be instinctive. When I play in this mindset, the magic comes.” The magic will, unfortunately, come to Miami in a bittersweet sendoff. Licht will be making her Miami debut on October 10 at Shirley’s theater stage inside Gramps, which announced its January 2026 closure, for a one-and-done show. Nonetheless, her presence will outshine any dread when you see her perform as a tried- and-true electronic artist. The Mexican artist does not need the newest CDJs and mixers to entrance the crowd. Indeed, she needs no CDJ because her track selection is her own music, and anything created dur- ing a set is ephemeral for that night only. “I’m not a DJ at all,” she confesses. “I’m very performative. To perform without my music would not make sense. I always per- form live with my music.” A live set may in- clude using fairly minimal hardware, such as a launch pad and a controller. “The magic is in the software Ableton. All the work is there. You will see it’s something cinematic. Of course, it’s techno music, but it’s not regular music for the dance floor.” Licht recalls being entranced by electronic music as a teenager through bands and artists like Kraftwerk, Can, the Chemical Brothers, and Klaus Schulze. She studied sound engi- neering and started making music almost two decades ago. Her first release, however, was not until 2016, with her Female Criminals Vol. 1 EP on her label, Motus. To be closer to the electronic pulse, she moved to Berlin for a while. It’s challenging to overstate Licht’s protean talents in her music making. But look at “Sin” for a prime example. It all begins with a strong, rippling techno bassline. She then tweaks it so slightly to give it a ghetto house sound with the short, bouncy loops she created from her vocals. When you’re expecting some sanitized four-on-the-floor loop, she creates an ominous, stormy cloud of synth work that slips the track into some Berlin dungeon club. Cymbals rain blood and then are subtracted to make room for a light melody. And that’s just one example — from ten years ago. “Without Name No. 1,” released last November, begins with ambient inter- ludes that soon give way to heavy synth work, enveloping everything in a blanket of snow and bare-bones techno. The high-pitched synths sound like violins from a Schoenberg composition. She explains that her tracks be- gin as a “creative process that is sort of like a formula.” Licht views it as a “conceptual script,” through which she can convert her ideas into music using the software Ableton. Her knowledge of the program was so exten- sive that she later became an Ableton-certi- fied trainer and teaches classes to novices. Granted, Mexico has an electronic music scene, but she had no one like an older sib- ling, friend, or parent who pushed her to this surreal sound. It was instead two-fold. She would watch old MTV videos showing Aphex Twin, the Chemical Brothers, and The Prod- igy. She was also inspired by the late auteur David Lynch and his surreal qualities and mysticism, which left more questions than answers. “Not just for me, but many artists. He was a filmmaker and musician. What resonated with me more was that he was a magician. His visual aesthetic and universe were a per- fect script for me.” Above all, Licht did not want to be labeled a Mexican artist or one who haphazardly in- corporates Mexican instruments into her music. “I wanted to sound global, and I think it’s there. If you listen to my music, I don’t think you can tell it’s by a girl in Mexico. And that’s why I picked up the name ‘Demian,’ be- cause it sounds like a boy or a girl.” People can expect an Ableton North American tour from Licht, where she will teach students about music-making. She is also heading to Australia in the summer to perform. In five years, Licht expanded her mindset even further, moving back to Mexico and exploring activities beyond production, like dance and slacklining. She believes the distractions broadened her music. Whether it’s a product of time or more activities, Licht’s unabashed music is her own, and the listener can hear that in un- der a minute. “I don’t pretend to be the best, and I don’t think my sound is the best, but I think it’s unique. It sounds like me.” Demian Licht. 10 p.m. Friday, October 10, at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami; zeyzeymiami.com. Tickets cost $42–$78 via eventbrite.com. [email protected] ▼ Music Music Demian Licht will be making her Miami debut on October 10 at Shirley’s. Photo by Aloha Burn IT’S CHALLENGING TO OVERSTATE LICHT’S PROTEAN TALENTS IN HER MUSIC MAKING. Taste Test from p9
