Tuesday Series @ Madame May 3rd

This week's Tuesday Series features Brambles Cinch (from Chicago), a solo percussion performance from Davu Seru and bass/electronics duo Dubbelboss. Another awesome lineup. Check it!

Heavy Focus IV @ Club Med Tonight!

Heavy Focus 4 is tonight at the place with many names. For the mere pittance of ten bones you can expose yourself to some of the harshest sounds around. Highlights include the live premier of Father You See Queen and a rare performance by Free Boys. Don't miss out!


Heavy Focus 4
April 30th
9PM
10 dux Club Med

Vertonen
Queening
Ison Sucks
Prostate
Blessed Sacrafist
Mr Fuckhead
Father You See Queen
Grainbelt
Gnawed
Custodian
Kr Grauwacke
Crusader No Remorse
Freeboyz
Soaking Rasps

Mar Habrine-S/T

Lighten Up Sounds continues it's hot streak with a self-titled cassette release from electronic wizard Mar Habrine (Skoal Kodiak, Soaking Rasps, E Yang'sSmoldering Wreath). You'll have no trouble tuning in to this sonic seance much in the spirit of electronic music pioneers like Louis and Bebe Barron (also from Minneapolis). Listen to "Untitled 3" here and visit some forbidden planets of your own!

From Lighten Up:

Could not possibly be more excited about this one. Mar Habrine (a.k.a. Soaking Rasps, Smoldering Wreath, and member of Mpls. groove-noise trio Skoal Kodiak) delivers nine totally crucial and meditative tracks of distinct slippy-dubby electronics and deep murk-gurgle jams. Minimal non-beats and hard stereo panned gargling, loopy lazer beam hymns and deep tone-load zoners. This is heavy head music. A jungle of filters and leaky capacitors conjures invisible bass players playing invisible grooves, soaring zurna mantras, hissing tea pots and hypnotic electro-grizz rhythms that demand involuntary body movement. So, so good. The world has been patiently waiting for a take-home Rasps experience. After years of performing on the regular both solo and collaboratively under the Soaking Rasps moniker, Mar finally laid these springtime essentials to tape, and the sun shines a bit brighter for it. Three cheers for tangible evidence! These recordings include some disarmingly musical work, lovely and focused pow-wow sessions. Hits the streets with days to spare before the upcoming "Heavy Focus" festival in Minneapolis, MN. Real time duplicated black shell cassette comes with full color labels and matching full color double sided card stock J-card featuring some pretty strange future-surrealist artwork that lends a definite "sci-fi" mood to the sounds contained within. Not science-fiction as in boring cosmic synth dreamy nothing-ness, but science-fiction like beautiful naked cat-women huddled en-mass on a distant barren planet. Really weird.

Food Pyramid-Last Shuttle to the Red Planet

Here's "Last Shuttle to the Red Planet," an Asimovian jam from Food Pyramid's new Moon Glyph cassette III translated into moving pictures by Katelyn Reece Farstad. All aboard!

Food Pyramid - "Last Shuttle to the Red Planet" from moon glyph on Vimeo.

Gold Panda-Marriage (Star Slinger Remix)

A win win win situation here with Star Slinger's haunting remix of Gold Panda's "Marriage" as seen through the eyes of Anže Sekelj and Lucijan Kranjc. Fractured grids of light slowly animate an empty domicile as bells and laughter bleed through the beats. You can listen to other remixes from the Marriage EP (2011, Ghostly) as well as some of Gold Panda's own remixes here.

Gold Panda - Marriage (Star Slinger Remix) OFFICIAL from How Do I Computer on Vimeo.

Locals Only!

Here are some new electronicish releases from artists/labels in the Twin Cities or thereabouts. Enjoy!



BETAWOLvES-No Room For Ghosts (self-released)




Littlefoot-Mermanity EP (Soothing Almonds Collective)




Eskimo Spy-This Is Hennepin (Hospice Media)




Free Boys-Free Boys (Lighten Up Sounds)

Clipd Beaks-Alien

Clipd Beaks are back this week with the spaced-out "Alien," an outtake from their album To Realize (2010, Lovepump United). Fix yourself a bite to eat and have a listen!

Alien by Clipd Beaks

The Mind of Mux

Mux Mool is the alias of Brooklyn-based superproducer Brian Lindgren. A prodigious artist in the visual as well as the aural realm, Brian has transformed abundant raw talent into an overall aesthetic which has rightly earned him the respect of fellow producers and fans everywhere. With releases on Moodgadget and Ghostly International before and behind him, the sky's the limit for this artistic wunderkind. Here, Mux shares his thoughts about art, music and the future, as well as the exclusive track "Taking Electricity!"



In addition to being an crackerjack music producer, you're also a gifted visual artist. Is there anything about your musical process that carries over into your visual art, or vice versa?

Well, thank you for saying so. I would say that the difference in process is substantial. With a computer everything is gridded, but when I draw, nothing is gridded. I think the biggest similarity between the two is just not knowing what I'm going to make each time I sit down. I just sit and start something up and see where it goes.


Do you prefer one to the other?

I can't say I prefer one to the other, but I have been drawing for a lot longer than I have been making music. I can freely draw with confidence, knowing that I have over 10,000 hours of drawing experience. Music, not so much. Music still baffles me sometimes, but that's what makes it interesting. I also can't seem to do visual art as a job. I don't like drawing stuff for people, I like just drawing whatever the fuck I wanna draw.


Who are some of your favorite visual artists?

R. Crumb, Ralph Steadman, Roger Dean, Von Bode, Moebius, Winsor McCay, oh, and Rocking Jelly Bean.


Both your visual art and your music contain elements of fantasy one associates with sci-fi novels, comic books or video games. How does fantasy fuel your creativity and to what point do you live in your, or someone else's, imagination?

Well, that's a big part of why I latched onto drawing as a kid. It was to escape the bullshit going on around me. It still is that way... very much so. Music became that as well, in a way, although, when it's your work, sometimes doing it to escape is difficult. I think the bottom line is though, I'm always in imaginationland.




Mux Mool being an alter-ego of sorts, do you find that assuming a character helps you to create?

Definitely no. I don't like the alter-ego idea. I definitely do not get into character. I think in order to do that you sort of have to believe your own hype, and humility is above hype in terms of what's important to me.


Do you have other aliases or major characters you've created in your art or music?

I don't have any other music identities, although that idea has been tossed around more than once. Characters for visual art? Probably too many to name. When I was in 6th grade I drew this character named Mute Man who couldn't talk and had a robot arm. I used to write my own star wars stories with characters I created. Shit, even before that I would draw out whole worlds with continents and create my own alien celebrities. It's been kinda fun going back to those old sketch books and updating the weird shit I used to draw. I'm a bit better now, but those 2nd grade ideas are pricless, everyone had a sword or a gun for an arm. Radness.


You've cited Daft Punk, also somewhat fantasy-prone producers, as an influence, but this only comes through vaguely in your music. Who are some of your other influences and whose music have you been enjoying lately?

Daft Punk Homework was like, the very first modern electronic music record I owned. They're an inspiration in that way for one, but also because I used to, and still do make what I consider dance music. Man, when I was getting out of high school all I wanted to do was make progressive house. Influences are pretty all across the board. Inspired music is what's inspirational. There is a very tangible difference between inspired and uninspired music. Lately, still on Wu-Tang, re-listening to Cornelius, Point album. Bibio.




You grew up and cut your teeth in Minneapolis and then moved to Brooklyn. How is life different in the Big Apple and is there anything about the Mini-Apple that you miss?

A lot of things are different. People in NYC are more forward, and more driven. It's something I appreciate, because things happen pretty fast, and there's always work to do. I also enjoy being exposed to all cultures at all times, it's such a great mashup of the world. Oh also, places stay open 24 hours. But to my surprise, NYC and Brooklyn are lacking in decent coffee shops. Obviously, Minneapolis has entirely too many, but as someone who doesn't drink alcohol, it was nice to have places to do that in Minneapolis. I still miss that.


Who are some of your favorite producers in either community?

Well of course Medium Zach of Big Quarters is a favorite. He taught me how to make beats. Very glad he did. Connie Hawkins is in Minneapolis. I like his stuff. Ghostband, of course. And in NYC, Shigeto is amazing- probably the most musically talented person I'll ever know. Machinedrum, Eliot Lipp, Mikey Bubbles is bringing back some new jack swing... I like that.


Would you say you make music more for people to listen to or to to dance to?

I always hope for a little in between, a little fun with a little thought. As I progress I find that I'm more inclined to make listening music though. I never expected to be playing shows or trying to make things that sound good live. I always just wanted to write a complete classic, and I"m getting back to that now. But whatever, people will dance to that shit too.




With the inclusion of your track "Lost and Found" on Moodgadget's Rorschach Suite compilation in 2006, you found yourself thrust before a wider, more expectant audience. Since then, you've produced and released a steady stream of material as well as touring quite a bit. What's it been like to go from being a dedicated hobbyist to a world famous producer?

Shit, I don't know if I'm world famous, just regionally famous? Yeah, that experience really caught me off guard and kinda messed me up a bit. I was just making those silly songs and posting 'em on Myspace, and suddenly it's one of iTunes best electronic songs of 2006. It was weird. I wish I had been more prepared at the time to follow up with that, but I was just too inexperienced. There's a lot of stuff I've had to learn since then that I never expected to, a lot of it pertaining to the business side of the industry. Being a professional means a lot of things, it's not just waking up and banging on keys anymore, things have to be thought of and approached as whole ideas, and the when and how and how much all have to go into it. I'm very glad I learned this stuff though, and that I'm still learning cuz it's very unnatural.


Do you feel pressured to produce now that it' a "job?"

Of course! There is always pressure, the label giving me a deadline, a big opportunity comes around and you really really want to do something exciting, I mean, you want everything you do to be your best. The pressure isn't always bad though because lord knows I'd put everything off forever if someone didn't crack the whip now and then. I think the stronger pressure I feel though is my own. I want to get better, I want every song and release to show improvement, and it's difficult to know how you've changed when you're so close to all the details. Also, it may be a job, but it's the best job, and a fun job, so I'm always grateful for that.


What are you working on right now in terms of albums, collaborations and remixes?

Days away from finishing my 2nd full length album. Doing an EP with P.O.S.


You've done a number of remixes and have been remixed a number of times. How does your approach to remixing differ from your approach to producing your own music and what element of a remix helps it retain the original track's identity?

When I remix someone, my key goal is to change the feeling of it. If it's a happy song, find the sad in it, if it's super cheesy, find the funk. I just try and re contextualize whatever message the original song was trying to convey. But when I'm making my own songs, there's no mood to change really, you're setting the mood.




You've worked with MC's such as P.O.S. and Ice Rod. Who are some other MC's you'd like to work with?

Shit, I don't even know anymore, Method Man?


Who, living or dead, would be your fantasy collaborator?

Oh shit, uh, maybe Billy Cobham writing me some drum parts.


How, if at all, do you think music makes the world a better place?

Music gives people a chance to do or be what they wanna do or be in a very strong way. It gives everyone that chance, the chance to feel like you're in a movie or that you're actually in love, or you're gonna win this fight etc, and it locks in that feeling so you can experience it again and again. It helps people stay people.


Generally speaking, do you find other producers more competitive or cooperative?

I think we're all cooperative to a point. Certainly, very few of us are true enemies, but there's not a lot of resources for all of us, so sometimes you have to get what you can while you can. Everyone's trying to make it on their own, and you gotta look out for #1. But we all exchange ideas and hook each other up with shows and what not. The competitive part is also kinda fun. It's not like, you're hating on someone. You just are impressed with what they do, and so you try and do better, and then they in turn are impressed, and everyone works harder at music. That's the point.


What would your utopia be like?

Utopia would be awful, let's keep things dirty.

Taking Electricity by muxmool

Plasma Face-Bluevatar

Insides Music, sonic bestiary of great renown, has recently logged another unique animal. Bluevatar, a quixotic hybrid of glitchy bleeps and crumbled beats is known to roam in the wilds of Plasma Face's imagination. Stream or download this majestic musical specimen here for free!

From Insides Music:

Bluevatar is a unique creature of strange sounds and old synthesizers. When it awakens, its inner gears and circuitry start to flicker and flash creating music and sounds. It blends a mix of near and far. Glitched to perfection, crushed bit by bit, pitched up and down to desolation. The Bluevatar creature tells a musical story with this album so listen and it shall be heard.

From the depths of a dark and cold new york apartment, Steve Brickman started to experiment with some old keyboards and drum samples. While working at a nuclear plant, he suffered severe radioactive damage from a full station meltdown. Left with half plasma and half face, a two part creature was born. On one side, the sounds of glitched hip-hop instrumentals are heard. Opposing that is old video game type music. Venture into each realm to see what you can find.

Electronic Explorations-Various Mixes

There's a slew of awesome mixes over at Electronic Explorations, a site curated by Rob Booth and dedicated to the left of every electronic music field. Once a week, featured artists and labels share their favorite tracks for your streaming and downloading pleasure. A great way to hear new music and learn about new artists!

Partial listing of mixes below. Go to the site for a full listing!

Tom Kerridge/Ramp Recordings
Tommy Four Seven & Ital Tek
Airhead
Neil Landstrumm
Eskmo & Kulture
Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble
Bong Ra
Ad Noiseum
Cardopusher
Mike Paradinas
Planet Mu
Kid 606
James Blake
Falty DL & Friends
Ramadanman
Wireman
Milanese

Eliot Lipp-The Outside (Mux Mool Remix)

In the spirit of brotherly love, Brooklyn beatmaster Eliot Lipp is offering up a remix album called Brolabs. In addition to this snappin' Mux Mool remix of his track "The Outside," you'll find ten more artful reworkings of the crack producer's handicraft. Enter your email and get the album for free here!

Eliot Lipp The Outside (Mux Mool Remix) by eliotlipp

A Word with Dosh

Multi-instrumentalist megaproducer Martin Dosh is a man who should need no introduction. Through his solo releases on Anticon, his work with Fog, Andrew Bird and many, many others his influence as an artist is felt throughout the musical world. A dedicated craftsman if ever there was one, Martin's work ethic, skill and integrity have carried him from humble beginnings in South Minneapolis to a stage at Coachella. Mr. Dosh was kind enough to answer some questions for The Somethin' Else about his life and music. Read away and be sure to see him perform tonight with Food Pyramid and the Galactic Orchestra at the U of M's Whole Music Club!


You're holding down drum duties for Gayngs at Coachella this year. How did this come about?

I’ve been friends with Ryan Olson for a long time, he’s helped me a bit over the years with his knowledge of Pro Tools and general awesomeness. I played the drums for Gayngs’ cover of George Michael’s "One More Try", and helped out a little recording Mike Lewis’s sax for the Gayngs record. For Coachella I was just filling in on drums for Joe Westerlund. It was a blast. I randomly met Jerry Harrison and Flying Lotus (not at the same time) riding around on those little go-carts they have at those festivals. Memo to self: ride more go-carts next time you are at a rock festival.


In addition to your prolific output as producer and solo performer, your responsibilities with Andrew Bird and various other musical odds and ends you attend to, you've recently started playing drums with the Cloak Ox (a band comprised of the original members of Fog). How does this band differ from its predecessor?

The simplest distillation of this idea would be that Fog seemed to revel in making things difficult for itself (musically), whereas the Cloak Ox revels in making things easy and instantly gratifying. We get to do what we are good at. It is actually a shitload more complicated than that, but that might be the easiest explanation. Its the same dudes, we’re all 10 years older and have all done wildly divergent stuff in the interim. All of those combined experiences, plus our trust in each other makes this band totally different. Plus I don’t have any keyboards or looping devices, I just get to hammer away on the drums. It is a totally satisfying thing.


Any other collaborations or moonlighting in the works?

I’ve been doing a lot of remixing since I put Tommy out last year. It is a very fun use of my time, but perhaps has been taking a bit too much of my creative energy, as I generally spend way too much time on any given piece I’m working on (including my own stuff). I’ve done remixes for Cepia, White Hinterland, S. Carey, Haley Bonar, My Jerusalem, Eyedea and Abilites, Roma di Luna and probably a few more I’m forgetting about. Someday I’m going to release a comp of all my remixes in chronological order. I’m sure it will be very revealing.




Before releasing the first Dosh record in 2002, you performed in a variety of groups as well as practicing and recording assiduously on your own. What led you to begin your solo career and how did your prior work inspire and influence your solo beginnings?

My solo career is partially a result of my issues with communicating with other people. and partially a result of my desire to communicate with other people. I would love to lead a band, but as anyone who has worked with me can attest, I’m not that gifted with words. I don’t always know what I want, but when I hear it, I know it. In a way that’s why Mike Lewis is the perfect foil for me, because I hardly have to tell him anything. He doesn’t ask for direction so much as he just does what he wants within whatever structure we have mapped out for a song, and it is uniformly awesome. Jeremy Ylvisaker is the same way.

With regards to the second half of that, the reason I put out that first record was simply to communicate with my friends and family and the world, I guess, that: this is me, these are my friends, this is what I do and my friends helped me do it. It’s hardly a solo recording. All of my records, with the exception of Powder Horn, would have been impossible without the help of my pals. The first dosh record has 14 other musicians on it! Andy Broder wrote 2 of the songs for crying out loud! I’m not going to say that the overall aesthetic and driving force and vision weren’t mine, but my career is totally owed to all of my friends. That’s why all of the photos are on the back of the first record. I want to never forget that.


Does your work in other groups continue to still inform your creative process?

Absolutely. I think it’s more of a process of osmosis. I’m sure the same goes for other people I play with/have played with being influenced by what I do. If anything, working with other talented people makes you want to strech your boundaries and keep on trying to find something new and unique. And though it’s a hard axiom to live by, I love the quote from William Faulkner which says, “Don’t just try to be better than your contemporaries, try to be better than yourself.” It’s a comforting quote to me, because whenever I start to look at music as a comptetion, and I try really really hard not to, I realize it’s a no-win game. I should only be trying to impress myself.


Since the beginning, you've included your peers in every part of your process while maintaining your distinct sound. What are the advantages of sharing your creative process and, with so much outside input, how do you maintain your unique sound?

I touched on this a bit earlier, but I think the glue for the whole thing are my ears and my drumming, my relatively simple approach to melody, and my total disregard for standard song forms. Most collaborations involve other people improvising over a simple chord progression, or even just a short one-bar loop, me recording them, and then later chopping up their contribution to fit my idea of what the song should sound like.


With many artists like yourself working in multiple musical genres at once, the Twin Cities has been a musical melting pot for many years. How has the local scene evolved?

I can hardly consider myself an expert on this subject as there are so many new bands all the time. I make an effort to go out as much as I can, and check out new stuff, but I really don’t think I could write any kind of treatise on the local scene of the last 15 years.




Whose work stands out the most?

I can’t answer that question due to not wanting to piss anybody off.


You play both drums and keyboard. How long have you been playing each instrument respectively, and what artists influenced you on each?

Well, my piano skills are shall we say, lacking. So for my rhodes, I would say in terms of melody, the biggest influence would probably be Jerry Garcia. In terms of tone, the biggest influence would probably be Jimi hendrix, in terms of feel, the biggest influences would probably be Herbie Hancock and John Medeski, though I don’t claim to be able to play anything like them in the slightest. For drums, the list is long: Mitch Mitchell, John Bonham, Jack DeJohnette, Mike Clark, Bill Bruford, Dave King, Billy Martin, JT Bates..... I could go on here for a day or so......


What instrument would you really like to learn to play?

That's an easy question: Guitar. However, when you play in a band with Ylvis and Broder, it’s kind of hard to take that idea seriously.


Your drumming was initially understated in your live performances, to make way for the whole process, but it seems like you're starting to play more extensively in recent shows. Is this a conscious choice? Has anything changed about the process that facilitates this?

Well, I’ve been doing a lot more solo shows as Mike has gotten really busy with various other projects. I find that playing drums is the most joyful thing that I do and whenever I play the kit, it seems those are the peak moments of a show. I guess I'm just trying to extend that good feeling. Also, I never know where it will lead, and oftentimes a new beat will take me in a different direction. So, I guess it is a concious decision in that I’m deciding to let go a bit more and just let er rip. My command of all my various looping devices and routing of signals is also a lot better, which usually means a lot less set-up time in terms of building loops on stage.


What music were you listening to ten years ago and what are you listening to now? Is there anything that you listened to then that you still enjoy now?

10 years ago... Tortoise TNT,
Radiohead Kid A,
Squarepusher, Feed Me Weird Things
Everything on Anticon

All the stuff I liked 10 years ago, I still like..... literally everything.....




Is there any electronic music that you've been enjoying lately?

Caribou’s Swim was easily my favorite record of 2010, Baths’ record, Cerulean, is amazing. I really like the new James Blake stuff.


Who are some of your favorite producers?

DJ Premier, Jel, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, RZA, Chris Taylor, Madlib and, of course, Nosdam


A husband and father of two and a former school teacher, what relationship does music have with the community at large?

Not enough of one. I’m working on that. Get back to me in a year.


What is the musician's role in society?

Apparently to make commercials for the gap.


What does the future hold for Dosh (albums, projects, etc.)?

Looking like I’m trying to finish up an EP asap. We’ll see if that actually happens! The Cloak Ox will hopefully release something very soon and do a tour this year. The Bird record comes out early next year sometime, and then we will tour the crap out of it.


What would your utopia be like?

A society where everyone knows their neighbor and is invested in the health of their immediate community. If that were the case, the rest would take care of itself.

John Maus-Believer

JOHN MAUS - Believer (Official Video) from Upset The Rhythm on Vimeo.

John Maus is the man. Here's the video for "Believer" from his forthcoming Ribbon Music/Upset the Rhythm release We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Walls of sound tumble down to a synthetic fanfare baroque and beatific.

John Maus - Believer by RibbonMusic

DGK @ TRY THIS #2 3/25/11 Recap

DGK keyboardist John Keston has posted the audio (courtesy of Isaac Halvorson and James Patrick) from our performance at Try This #2 on his blog Audio Cookbook. DGK is yours truly, Jon Davis (electric bass guitar, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), Tim Glenn (drums) and John Keston (keyboards, electronics). Keep an ear out for audio from our Try This #3 performance and enjoy!

Parts 1 & 2
Part 3
Part 4

Deep Earth-House of Mighty II

Here's Ben Marcus' video for "House of Mighty II" off of Deep Earth's Moon Glyph cassette release House of Mighty (2011). A fuzzy adventure collage unfolds to bass driven beats and epic guitar and synth strains. An adventure for eye and ear alike!

Deep Earth - "House of Mighty II" from moon glyph on Vimeo.

Daedelus-One and Lonely (Lost Remix) & Sundown (Haunted Dub)

Here are the second and third of Daedelus' Room 205 performances-"One and Lonely (Lost Remix)" and "Sundown (Haunted Dub)." His new Ninja Tune release Bespoke also dropped on this, the cruelest, month. Be sure to check it out!

Brian Eno-Glitch

Here's a track from Brian Eno's forthcoming Warp Records release called Drums Between the Bells. The song, "glitch," puts the words Rick Holland to a pressing futureworld rhythmscape. Holland's lyrics, as well as a assemblage of vocalists, are featured throughout the album which should be available in July. Preorder here or here.

Brian Eno - glitch (taken from Drums Between The Bells) by Warp Records

Tuesday Series @ Madame of the Arts

Tonight's installment (see here) of what has come to be known as the Tuesday Series is one in a succession of performances put together by a loose community of Twin Cities improvisers and experimentalists that has grown in number and influence over the years. I recently had an opportunity to ask present series curator, maker of awesome fliers and sometimes series performer Casey Deming for the details about the long-running and prestigious Tuesday Series.



What is your series called?

Tuesday Series (previously known as "Tuesday Series for Improvisation and Experimentation" - mouthful) http://tuesdayseries.com/ ---- join the e-mail list - tuesday.series@gmail.com.

How often and where does your series take place?

Approximately every other Tuesday (sometimes the schedule moves around).

bryce beverlin II live improvisation february 2 2010 from brycebeverlinII on Vimeo.

How long have you been doing your series?

I've been curating it now for 2+ years with the help of Art of This' John Marks.
Before that I was helping host the series when it was still housed at the old Acadia Cafe spot on Franklin Ave and Nicollet. The Series has been running for over a decade now, originally started by Davu Seru, later organized by Andrew Lafkas, Nathan Philips, and Bryce Beverlin II. Previous homes include Gus Lucky's Cafe, Acadia Cafe, Art of This Gallery, and currently we're at Madame of the Arts (3401 Chicago Ave S) though we are still co-produced and presented by Art of This.

What compelled you to start your series?

Though I wasn't around at the beginning stages, I was compelled to get involved and later curate for the series because I find its place in the community very important, insofar as it offers a space for musicians to grow, experiment, and collaborate with other local and international artists.







What is unique about your series?

I think it's unique because of its structure (open and intimate atmosphere) and who comprises the audience (often other musicians / artists). Each night presents a digestible amount of music, we start and end early (8pm-11pm), always important that it be all ages, and it's cheap (suggested donation $3-5).

How does your series contribute to the good of the community?

We offer a place to attentively listen to what is being presented, where the audience can critique and actively engage in the process of listening, whereas most folks experience live music at a loud bar or in an otherwise socialized setting (meaning that the music is not the main focus of attention). I don't want to make it sound like we are boring and "academic" - we too enjoy socializing, drinking some wine or beer - it's just that we hope that the performers get the attention that they deserve while they are improvising.







What have some of the highlights been for you so far?

It's been great to host a smattering of touring artists (Audrey Chen, Luca Marini, Seeded Plain, C. Spencer Yeh, Sissy Spacek, Jon Mueller, Andrei Kivu, Jozef Van Wissem, Che Chen, Robbie Lee, Carol Genetti, Jacob Wick, Aaron Zarzutzki, Wilson Shook, Rafael Toral (among others)), as well as getting local musicians to forge new collaborative efforts.

What are your thoughts on music in the Twin Cities?

There's something for everyone. I'm happy that we have so many non-legit venues and DIY spaces. Of course, that also posses problems of accessibility and the formation of insular communities, so it's important to spread one's involvement in the various outlets throughout the city.







What would your utopia be like?

endless amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, friends, sunshine, books

Greystates @ Short Circuit 4/16/11 Recap

Short Circuit - Greystates from Low-Gain on Vimeo.

Greystates killed it last night for Record Store Day/Short Circuit at Shuga Records. Here's some HD video with board audio courtesy of Logan Erickson. Nuff said.

Toiletooth-Live @ Muddy's 4/15/11

Here is a live set my inspiring friend Jon Simon, aka Toiletooth performed Friday at a place called Muddy's in Portland, Oregon (where he resides). Jon makes complex, playfully melodic songs which creatively bridge the gap between trip hop and breakcore. He has been integrating the monome into his live sets, accentuating his thoughtfully programmed orchestrations with real time aesthetic choices. You can download his album Montevideo here. He also has newer work can listen to more of his music here.

Toiletooth-Live @ Muddy's-4.15.11 by toiletooth

Tobacco, Beans & Shapers @ the Triple Rock Social Club Tonight!

Black Moth Super Rainbow's producer extraordinaire Tobacco returns to the Triple Rock Social Club tonight with Antipop Consortium's Beans and Chicago's Shapers. Expect riffs, verses, crackin' beats and retro-futuresynths galore!

Tobacco - Grape Aerosmith (feat. Beck) Official Video from Allen Cordell on Vimeo.

Beans - "Blue Movie" from anticon. on Vimeo.

SHAPERS "Jar" from SHAPERS on Vimeo.

Try This #3 @ the Slam Factory 4/15/11 Recap