I saw the Nick Cave exhibit this past May while visiting Seattle. Mesmerizing. Here’s a revisit:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
Posted: October 10, 2011 in Uncategorized“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
Cool post-modern rock-meets-electronica harmonies drifted through Velvet Jones Thursday night as a trio of undoubtedly talented bands serenaded the audience with incredibly authoritative instrumentals and captivating voices. Brought together by none other than ambient, post-rock kings, and Santa Barbara frequents, El Ten Eleven, the show began with openers Sister Crayon and The Globes. With the experimental music talents setting a garage-band show feel, the performance was laid back, yet sustained an esteemed and impressive aura, making for an absolutely compelling show.
El Ten Eleven At Velvet Jones
Kicking off the show was Sister Crayon, who although played to a sparse audience, blew away spectators with their psychedelic instrumentals. The quartet was led by vocalist Terra Lopez, whose powerfully haunting voice hypnotized listeners. Reminiscent of Florence and the Machine with her whispy, slightly raspy, sometimes opera-like crooning, Lopez was accompanied by synth-infused rock sounds comprised of drums and jazzy keyboard resonances. Though weighty on the reverb and echo, the group made for beautifully eerie sound building and was incredibly well received.
El Ten Eleven At Velvet Jones
Next, The Globes took the stage offering an incredibly dynamic performance. With structurally complex sounds the group embraces drastic evolutions from a whisper to a deafening storm in the span of a few seconds; using their volume to its fullest effect. Evocative of a dreamy rock jam band, they esteem false crescendos, building the song up, but dropping back to muted tones, only to bring it back full force; allowing for the high points to create an even more dominant influence. They are an excellent example of musical restraint with unanticipated structural turns in each song as seen in their set list which included “A Stich Couldn’t Save The World, “Stay Awake”, and their new song “Haunted By Bears.” The Globes was awesome to say the least.
El Ten Eleven At Velvet Jones
The venue filled out as El Ten Eleven took the stage, and killed it with what was likely their best performance in Santa Barbara thus far. Composed of Tim Fogarty on drums and Kristian Dunn on doubleneck and bass loop work, the duo has indisputably perfected their art. Creating intricately looped blends, their sound is redolent of a cross between expressive, emotional riffs and spunky, bold, synthetic reverberations. Picking up halfway through the set as Fogarty’s high energy sped up the tempo, heads began to bob harder as the audience instantly fell into pulse of the drummer. Playing all their favorites, including My Only Swerving, Sorry About Your Irony, and The Sycophants Are Coming!, El Ten Eleven crafted an upbeat brand of rhythmic, overlapping pock rock bliss, and never seems to be less than phenomenal.
El Ten Eleven At Velvet Jones
Though none of the sounds are starkly new, Sister Crayon, The Globes, and El Ten Eleven each are quietly innovative, constructing their own distinctive take on indie rock, making for a an irrefutably matchless listening experience.
See it on the Independent website. Videos soon to come!
Audiotistic 2011 Review for SB Independent: Night-Long Electronica Fest Proves (Slightly) Tamer Than EDC
Posted: August 3, 2011 in UncategorizedNOS Events Center was transformed this weekend into the imaginative carnival playhouse that is Audiotistic; chock full of titillating, neoteric music, elaborate performers and astounding light shows. The 11-hour non-stop party brought in a decent amount of people, though offered a mellower, laid-back feel as compared to its Insomniac counterparts. Nonetheless, the event brought together an impressive lineup of fresh DJs, all of which played strong sets that ultimately made for an awesome night of electronica.
At 3 p.m. on Saturday the gates were opened to the nocturnal nirvana, and the festival grounds became spotted with vibrant festival goers, swathed in spirit hoodies and furry boots. As attendees entered the venue they were immediately hit with I&I Soundsystem’s bombastic tunes, reverberating from “Destiny,” the L.A.-based, fully-restored ice cream truck adorned with turntables, amps, and speakers.
Escalating pulses for the rest of the fest, Bingo Players blasted hard beats for an early evening set. Playing party-worthy compositions like “Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll,” the duo set off what would be the most packed stage of the night. Next, Chris Lake, Scottish house DJ/producer brought a packed house with his distinct Euro-style, vocals-infused dance electronica that undoubtedly brought the merrymaking to its full potential.
Later, at The Boombox stage, AC Slater regaled the crowd with his drum and bass blends combined with upbeat sirens and layered sounds. His strategic beat building had the crowd hypnotized, swaying with the rhythms and shaking to the thumps. Unique in his mixes is an apparent jungle, booty-shaking sensation that offered an irresistibly provocative, dance-invoking aura.
Back at Treble Frequency, Porter Robinson played trance-sounding tunes combined with hard electronica, remixing songs like techno favorite Angel on My Shoulder and Kanye West’s Stronger, along with a number of other mainstream hits, giving them a deeper, darker feel. Elsewhere Lazaro Casanova impressed with his raw, incredibly refreshing instrumental house music, offering a unique, novel approach to the genre.
With an undeniably stand out performance, Flux Pavillion and Doctor P. brought intricately mixed beats to Treble Frequency, fusing everything from techno to dubstep for an irresistible arrangement. The duo killed it with their incredibly sophisticated, complex sounds, driving the constantly growing crowd wild with Cracks Begin to Show, Hold Me Close, and Love Goes Down. Imparting a jazzy impression with the introduction of a trumpet, the pair channeled transitions into electronica uniting the two genres flawlessly. The two were remarkable in their first performance on a Southern California stage, offering a little bit of everything for an immaculate set.
Next, Diplo, featured his new album with dance-thumping electronica. Known for producing unbeatably hot tracks for Santigold, M.I.A., Kid Cudi, and Beyoncé, he showed off his mix master skills, annihilating the audience with an outstanding performance. Following Diplo, Crystal Castles seduced the crowd with their psychedelic hard bass-imbued techno. The pair imparted delicate, varied sounds–scattered, but seamlessly blended offering an intoxicating listening experience.
At the Boombox, Craze mixed an extraordinarily fun blend of techno-ed out old school hip hop joints, instilling a dark, underground basement thrash feel; while Datsik bumped a compelling dubstep set at Bass Frequency. With deep, deliciously overwhelming bass lines, and an intriguing blend of characteristic reverberant drum patterns and futuristic electronic elements, Datsik stands as a noteworthy figure in dubstep.
Closing out the night, Wolfgang Gartner, renowned deep electro house DJ/producer, banged out something fierce in a relentless takeover with wild electro thumpers, driving viewers into raging dance fits. His unrivaled beat recipe is what has shot him to the top as an electro reigning king, and was undoubtedly the perfect closing set to this year’s Audiotistic.
See it on the Independent.
Audiotistic Preview for SB Independent: San Bernadino Hosts 16th Annual All-Night Muisc Fest
Posted: July 29, 2011 in UncategorizedFive mind blowing stages; crossover talents uniting electronica, hip-hop, dub step, trance, techno, drum & bass, and turtablism blasting through bone rattling sound systems; a plethora of performers and attractions including gogo dancer goddesses, staggering state-of-the art light shows, and colorful, stupefying carnival rides; and beautiful kandy-clad people furiously dancing the night away. That is the decadence that is Audiotistic, which has come in its 16th year to take over the NOS Events Center (689 South “E” Street, San Bernadino) this Saturday.
Insomniac’s Audiotistic features four stages this year bumping nonstop bass-thumping beats from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m indoors and outdoors. Swanking a complete lineup of over 35 artists with unrivaled ultramodern audiovisual technology, the event brings together the likes of Sebastian Ingrosso (Swedish House Mafia), fresh from headlining at EDC in Las Vegas, Bobby Burns, making his debut U.S. performance, and Flux Pavilion and Doctor P., gracing the desert with their first appearances on a Southern California stage.
The full lineup includes: Sebastian Ingrosso, Crystal Castles, Diplo, Porter Robinson, Chris Lake, Bingo Players, Bobby Burns, Morten Breum, Flux Pavilion, Doctor P., Datsik, Benga, Plastician, Ed Rush & Optical, Flinch, Deco plus special guest DJ Fresh, Major Lazer (live), Lil B “The Based God” (live), The Cool Kids, DJ Craze, Daedelus, AC Slater, Nick Catchdubs, King Fantastic (live), Arrabmuzik, Thee Mike B plus special guest Hoodie Allen (live), “Anjunabeats,” presents Super8 & Tab, Matt Zo, Jaytech, Arty, Menno de Jong, Marcel Woods plus special guest Showtek.
For those of age, there will be beer at wine served at bars throughout the grounds, in addition to scattered food and beverage stands. Also provided are ATMs, merchandise booths where official refillable Insomniac water bottles may be purchased, and a general store for things that may have been forgotten (or confiscated).
Recognized as one of the unsurpassed party throwers—including Electric Daisy Carnival and Together As One—Insomniac draws the masses again and again, never failing to please nocturnal music junkies. This year’s Audiotistic is sure to be another unforgettable experience for all the senses with some of the newest sounds in the music scene, and truly extraordinary, and bizarre sights.
For tickets and info about Audiotistic visit http://audiotisticfestival.com/. $1 per ticket sold, and $10 from each guest list attendee, will be donated to non-profit charitable organizations in the San Bernardino area as part of Insomniac’s Charitable Giving Initiative.
See it on the Indy website.
phantom creatures of the night, paralyzed in space and time, endlessly claw through their shattered, multihued, kaleidoscopic existence, only to end up where they began.
Posted: June 15, 2011 in Uncategorized
People move in and out of our lives, changing with the seasons, carried away by the nomad gypsy wind. Yet, while they are here, they intertwine their lives with ours, their hearts with our souls. Some come in and shine their guiding light, allowing you to learn something new, and come to some realization about yourself; while others enter in as an eclipse, shading your existence with the knowledge of their being, taunting you, daring you to whisper the words soul mate even just to yourself. Though we are grateful for the former, the latter is the one who truly makes an imprint, taking you to the depths of the darkness and the light within yourself; to an inescapably lurid state of consciousness. And though we are sad when our ray of sunshine leaves, we are distraught when our silver-lined shadow departs; so we attempt to cling to it, clutching to any little bit we are able to maintain a grip on, even if it is just a dwindling memory, vanishing as a drifter with the change of the breeze. In this, we must blink ourselves awake, back to the certainty of a solitary existence, unaccompanied by our ethereal companion, and realize that we can once again see the sky. Only then can we acknowledge the unmistakably soul-shaking encounter for what it was, and appreciate the perpetual change and growth it has caused us; allowing us to exonerate what transient agony it may have triggered, and look forward to what the next gust of wind will blow our way.
