For the last few months, Oscillate has been in turmoil. After the second set of promoters decided to call it quits, the techno/electro/IDM weekly laid dormant for a brief period. At the start of October, original promoter Patrick Hanaelt was ready to hand over the reins to Bryan Newman so he could keep the night going. At this point, despite Newman's clear vision for the night, outside factors could once again combine to spell its demise.
Newman has been an advocate for Oscillate since its beginnings at See Sound Lounge. Back then, the night was even more diehard-centric, its programming firmly planted in the headier side of electronic music. Fitting the lounge atmosphere, it was a chance for people to hang out and hear locals do their thing. That changed a bit after the move to the Baltic Room—the night pulled more touring acts, with the attendant cover charges. Another change in promoters saw Oscillate moving back to its more local-centric origins in recent months before the announcement of Oscillate's termination, prompting Newman to step in.
"I saw [Oscillate] getting back to its roots, and then Greg [Skidmore, former Oscillate promoter] was going to end it," Newman says. "I really liked the direction that it was going. I remember reading Greg's e-mail and thinking if it is to be, it's up to me."
The story would happily end there if it weren't for the talk about the Baltic Room's impending sale. The venue's management has no official comment, leaving Newman optimistic but unsure about Oscillate, which he's willing to move to another space if the need arises.
"It's hard to make any definite statements about anything," he says. "But after the dust settles, I'm definitely looking to do an Oscillate v3.0 release party to kick off the new season."
Oscillate occurs Thursdays at the Baltic Room, 9 pm–2 am, free, 21+.
In other attention-worthy events, Friday, October 19, sees the first Seattle appearances of London dubstep DJ/producers Benga & Hatcha at Contour. Inspiring a huge case of Afro envy, Benga creates moving tracks that require more than arms-crossed posturing. Hatcha mixed the first edition of the Dubstep Allstars series, so there's no doubt that he knows what's hot and what's not.
Also Friday, the Broken Disco–headlining return appearance of Modeselektor at Chop Suey is sure to be an all-out party. Their last show at Rebar was just short of legendary, and their latest album, Happy Birthday!, is good enough to convert the uninitiated into their rabid fold.
On Saturday, October 20, don't miss Matthew Dear's Big Hands at the Crocodile. Featuring a full band, Matthew Dear is fully embracing the techno pop with which he's previously flirted, moving from behind the decks to behind the mic in support of this year's excellent Asa Breed. Reviews have been mixed on the live performance, but it'll be worth it to see an established electronic-music producer try to make a dent in the world of indie rock.
If that's not enough, in case you haven't had your fill of fuzzed-up nu-electro, you'll want to be sure to check out Digitalism at Chop Suey on Monday, October 22. Another descendant in the school of Daft Punk, the German duo feature more vocals than their sample-heavy peers, so you can sing along as well as rock out. 
