Music

Parties Listings

by Dave Segal

SATURDAY MAY 14



JEREMY CAULFIELD, NORDIC SOUL, JACOB LONDON, NORA POSCH

As a DJ, producer, and head of Dumb-Unit Records, Caulfield has been one of the linchpins in Toronto's robust techno scene. His eerie, funky tracks for Dumb-Unit, Trapez, and WMF tap into microhouse's penchant for intricately detailed yet spare productions. In an interview with Eye Weekly, Caulfield describes Dumb-Unit's aesthetic as "minimalism that has a bit more funk added to it. It's still raw and stripped-down, but it's a step above minimalism in its maturity." Maturity plays no role in Seattle duo Jacob London's rambunctious house renovations. Textural hijinks, kooky samples, baby-making beats, and funk do, however. Mantra Lounge, 210 S Washington St, 9 pm-2 am, $5 before 10 pm, $7 after, 21+.

TUESDAY MAY 17



PREFUSE 73, BATTLES, BEANS

Just when you expect him to start sucking, Prefuse 73 drops his most interesting album. Surrounded by Silence looks like Prefuse's big-budget sell-out move. But despite all the high-voltage guest MCs and collaborators, Silence excitingly mutates hiphop's DNA and further hones Prefuse's lightning edits and designer glitchery. Now three releases old, Beans' solo career is at least as illustrious as that of his old crew Antipop Consortium. His heady, horndog linguistics flare allusively over riveting productions that evoke Mantronix as much as they do Autechre and Can. With Battles, DJ Nobody and Leb Lase and Suspence. Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000, 8 pm-2 am, $12 adv, 21+.

WEDNESDAY MAY 18



AUTECHRE, SND, ROB HALL

Snd--British producers Mark Fell and Mat Steel--have made some of the most definitive minimal abstract IDM (AKA "clicks 'n' cuts"). On albums like 1999's makesnd cassette and 2000's stdio (both Mille Plateaux), snd magicked the oddly becalming digital hum of 21st-century offices into miasmas of mechanical, melodic ambience, perfect music for accompanying computer-game designing. Snd locate the few molecules of beauty and soul in digital sound's sterility, and magnify them to optimal dimensions. Expect plenty of exclusive IDM gems in Gescom member Rob Hall's DJ set. Neumo's, 915 E Pike St, 709-9442, 9 pm-2 am, $15 adv, 21+.

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