Benn Jordan (The Flashbulb) & The Deep Element

You know that one video by Dove that’s been floating around YouTube featuring the time-lapse video of a woman having her hair and makeup done, then being further altered in Photoshop to enhance her features, and finally ending up on a billboard? The multi-talented Benn Jordan supplied the music for it with a track off of his latest album, Kirlian Selections. It not only is representative of one aspect of his sound, you could see it as a metaphor for his musical composition process.

First off, Benn has a zillion aliases (The Flashbulb, Acidwolf, Flexe, Q-bit, DJ ASCII, Lucid32, and more) and an incredibly diverse output. He often starts composing with live instruments and then alters and morphs them via digital signal processing, much in the manner that our model was given virtual plastic surgery. He’s probably best known for his melodic breakcore with live instrumentation in the vein of Squarepusher, but he’s also done classical music albums with a focus on guitar, piano, and sitar; classic acid releases; aggressive drill-n-bass (he opened for The Dillinger Escape Plan in 2005) and his own brand of melodic acid which he’ll be performing live at Ramp Chicago with various instruments and synths. He outright nails anything he wants to accomplish musically, which explains why he’s an in-demand commercial music producer. However, he won’t just take on any project—it has to speak to him first. The aforementioned Dove commercial was one of them since it critiqued the media’s portrayal of beauty.

Sharing Benn’s diversified musical sentiment is The Deep Element, aka Surachai Sutthisasanakul who makes experimental electronic music that pushes the sonic envelope yet employs downright beautiful melodies at the same time. While he professes a love for the aggression and drive behind heavy metal, he’s not above compassion as shown by his volunteer work helping the victims of the Asian tsunami in Thailand. His latest project is a collaborative effort called [co]sen_tasi and is available on iTunes, and his next album, Currents, is due for a late spring release on shade:red.

Tired of laptop performers staring intently at their screens amid bleeps and clicks over the PA? Experiencing Surachai together with Benn in the same night is sure to be entertaining and a step above traditional live PA. Show up early to catch The Deep Element leading off a night of boundarypushing electronica and live instrumentation via Benn Jordan’s eclectic approach and engaging stage presence. Residents Liz Revision (aka Quantazelle) contributes minimal techno, glitch, and IDM and Emulsion adds his own personal brand of melodic electro and ambient.

• Tuesday, June 12th at Sonotheque
• 1444 W. Chicago Ave.
• $5
• 21+
• 9pm to 2am

Eclectic multi-instrumentalist Benn Jordan (aka The Flashbulb) performs his own brand of melodic acid live at Ramp Chicago with The Deep Element. Residents Liz Revision and Emulsion play minimal techno, glitch, IDM, melodic electro and ambient.