Serving as a launch and fundraiser event for the new ELECTRONIC SOUND + ART CHICAGO (ESAC) organization, this Saturday will be the first in a series that takes a refreshingly sincere approach within an increasingly scenester and media-driven musical landscape. This two-room multimedia extravaganza showcasing the Chicago/Midwest debut of ATOM™(Uwe Schmidt of Señor Coconut /Atom Heart fame) & Tobias. It also features a couple surefire debut tag team spots (C.Widman vs Striz, DJ Warpvs F.Vega), as well as a second BEAT.SPACE room featuring performances culled from across Chicago’s varied electronic music community from the likes of Radius,Karl Meier, FMEL’s (((SONORAMA))), andTIME NICE (of dubscription). Presale tickets are available via Resident Advisor. The Viaduct Theater is located at 3111 N. Western. Atom™ and Tobias Freund are veritable living legends of electronic music. Tobias began his career in the early ’80s, mainly using the pseudonym “Pink Elln”. … Read More
Avant_MUTEK Chicago April 21-23, 2011
Chicago gets a taste of the Montreal-based digital art and electronic music festival that showcases innovation in music and creativity on April 21-23 with Avant_Mutek: Chicago. Founded in 2000, Mutek is an international festival organization dedicated to the promotion of electronic music and the digital arts. Its main event is an annual five-day event in Montreal, Canada that takes place in late May and early June. Many of electronic music’s most established figures have performed, as well as numerous new artists who have gone on to build sustainable careers. Along with performances, the festival also features workshops relating to gear and software showcases, and panel discussions concerning the issues that face electronic music and music production. Read more and see the full lineup.
How to be a LOLkid
LOLkid. Also: Lawlkid. LOLkids are like Scene Kids except add 100 IQ points and subtract emo. (LOLkids=($humanIQ+100)-$emoFactor;). LOLkids heart the intertronz and nerdery and are all about zar lawlz. 1. Is ok to LOL at yrself. In other words, don’t take yourself too seriously. This involves having a formidable degree of self confidence and not taking things personally. However, don’t overdo it and proclaim how awesome you are at every opportunity (like tweeting about your awesomeness) since others will get tired of you quickly. I mean, look at this guy on 4chan. He rules. He actually put a shoe on his head. And everyone LOLd. This is the way to roll. [Frak I can’t find the jpg.] Nvrmd. 2. Noe flaemz. “No flames.” Reference #1: LOLkids don’t take … Read More
Kate Simko on XLR8R TV
[Kate Simko] is something of a complete package, a classically trained pianist who found herself at Techno’s doorstep during Midwest rave’s heyday in the mid 90’s. A student in music technology at Northwestern, Kate later ventured out to continue her studies in Santiago, Chile and a start a successful project with Andres Bucci under the name Detalles, marking her entrance into the emerging new techno scene. Playing events such as Detroit’s Movement Festival, Decibel, and MUTEK have steadily built Kate’s reputation and her Chicago night Wake Up! has hosted everyone from John Tejada to Mikael Stavostrand, earning a “best regular club night” nod in the weekly publication New City. Kate is a music lifer, committed to the craft and impressing the more savvy critics one record at a … Read More
[Ramp Chicago] Lee Curtiss, Liz Revision
The basement of Debonair Social Club on August 29th will get downright dirty with some hot, sweaty action from Detroit’s bad boy of techno, Lee Curtiss. The producer who once famously described his approach to making music as “fuck trends, fuck dance music and fuck me, ” promises yet another night of “face-melting mayhem” as he pushes his way through a DJ set filled with new tracks from a recent tour of Europe, and tantalizes with the prospect of hearing some of his yet-to-be released tracks from his forthcoming albums on Canada’s Dumb Unit label. Then of course there is his nice haircut, ways with the ladies and his “sexy, primal,” little-bit-backwoods kind of beats, all which add up to a party not to be missed. His previous … Read More
Movement & Mutek articles at CDM
Here are a few articles I’ve written so far for Create Digital Music for Movement 2008 and Mutek in Montreal: Interview: Rechenzentrum, A/V Duo at Mutek Rechenzentrum, which means “data processing center” in German, is a Berlin-based duo who create live audio-visual performances by combining austere film visuals with their own brand of minimal techno, fusing elements of jazz, dub, and early industrial. Marc Wieser handles the music half while Lillevan navigates the visual landscape. Their 2003 DVD release Director’s Cut, originally out on Mille Plateaux, went on to win the Ars Electronica prize. Marc and Lillevan sat down with us after their sound check for A/Visions 2 at Mutek 2008. M-Audio UC-33 and Ableton Live Combo Everywhere at Movement 2008 Liz notes the spooky near-ubiquity of UC-33e … Read More