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September 16, 2008

Music

Data Breaker

Audioasis Broadcast with Alex Ruder Hypes Decibel Fest

by Dave Segal

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Herman Moore

ALEX RUDER

This year's Decibel Festival will receive a strong boost this Saturday from KEXP with a special edition of Audioasis devoted to local artists playing the prestigious event's fifth year. Hosting is Alex Ruder, 25, a fill-in DJ and record reviewer at KEXP who isn't shy about airing his excellently broad and deep musical tastes, whether during the graveyard shift or subbing for the legendary DJ Riz on select Wednesday or Thursday evenings.

Ruder, who started interning at KEXP in June 2005 soon after graduating from the University of Washington, had previously served two years at UW's Rainydawg Radio. "I walked away from school with a stronger love and passion for hearing, discovering, and sharing music," Ruder says. "And being a [Seattle] native, I knew that KEXP was the most ideal place to continue doing what I love."

Stranger Personals

Ruder debuted on KEXP's airwaves on February 5, 2008, after volunteering "thousands of hours for over two and a half years." After helping to plan and produce last year's Decibel-friendly Audioasis, Ruder's been rewarded with the task of hosting 2008's all-electronic version; the weekly program typically highlights Seattle's rock scene. For this show, electronic-music groups and producers Obelus, ndCv, Caitlin Sherman, and the Sight Below will play live sets. All of these artists excel at intelligent sound design, melodic beauty, and cinematic atmospheres.

Ruder says that he chose these musicians to achieve "a balance between familiar versus unfamiliar and accessible versus experimental. Obelus and ndCv have been well-known staples in the Seattle electronic-music community over the past few years, and Obelus's recent work with Caitlin Sherman offers an accessible sound to kick off the show. With ndCv working frequently with Obelus lately, I thought it'd be intriguing to have them all come in for a live session. They might even play some brand-new material that they've been working on all together specifically for the show!

"[Decibel director] Sean Horton tipped me to Seattle's the Sight Below, who recently released his debut EP on Ghostly International. The Sight Below is more on the minimal end of the electronic-music spectrum; his music is a hypnotic mixture of ambient techno and dreamy shoegaze textures, kind of like the Field on Vicodin."

Ruder earnestly declares, "I want to program an exciting show that'll showcase the best electronic music from the Pacific Northwest. I hope [Audioasis] will introduce listeners to Decibel Festival, or get listeners more enthused about this year's lineup; I hope it'll be a show that both casual and die-hard electronic fans can enjoy."

Ruder's recommendations for this year's Decibel include the following showcases: Deconstructing Pop (Sept 25, Neumos), Ghostly International (Sept 27, Baltic Room), Ambient (Sept 28, Triple Door), Decibel Finale (Sept 28, Neumos). Smart kid...