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PHOTEK, GRIDLOCK (SF)
Remember when Photek was the epitome of scientific drum 'n' bass? Jesus, was he phenomenal, laying down beats like a sushi chef slices sea creatures and suffusing everything in a fug of paranoia and intrigue (seek the 1998 collection Form & Function and 1997's Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu EP for proof). Then he decided he wanted to be a retro house producer, dropping the banally functional Solaris in 2000. Let's hope this erratic Brit genius returns to his senses and junglistic, leg-twisting rhythms for this rare Seattle visit. Club Sky, 332 Fifth Ave N, all ages with bar, $17 before 10 pm, $20 after.
NOT BREATHING, LE FLANGE DU MAL
The music of Not Breathing (Arizona's Dave Wright) morphs amoeba-like from Coil's flotation-tank-full-of-sewer-water ambience to solarized drones to insectoid synth textures to the rhythmic turmoil and brutal funkiness of Meat Beat Manifesto (with whom Wright's worked). No matter what shape they assume, Not Breathing's tracks carry a hallucinatory vividness that suggests Wright may have ingested Tim Leary-sized doses in his day. Check out the new Carrion Sounds (Kimosciotic) for brain-banging proof. San Francisco's Le Flange du Mal consists of members from Zeigenbock Kopf, Crack: We Are Rock, Crash Worship, and SubArachnoid Space. As LFDM member Chris Rolls says, "The lineup is synth, mutated drums, mutated trumpet, vocals, and food." Sounds deliciously decadent. Hideaway, 2219 Fourth Ave, 441-0464, 9 pm-2 am, $6.
SUNDAY MARCH 21
DOMU
Domu (Dominic Stanton) is broken beat's Miles Davis: the man who sets the standard for technique and innovation. The West London artist restlessly quests for novel routes out of rhythmic ruts that plague (and define, really) most electronic genres. Ex-jungle producer Domu twists ye olde funque beats into infinitely malleable shapes without getting too wacky about it. His great accomplishment is to craft intricate rhythms that make fellow producers exclaim, "Damn!" while also keeping booties shaking with a vengeance. I'm still marveling over his remix of Cinematic Orchestra's "Man with the Movie Camera" (off Ninja Tune's new ZEN RMX comp), which forges a fresh direction for funk in a time signature that fries my synapses. Even when he's messing with legends like soundtracker Ennio Morricone (see Compost's second volume of Morricone remixes), Domu puts an alien yet sensual spin on whatever he touches. Baltic Room, 1207 Pine St, 625-4444, 9 pm-2 am, 21+, $5.
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