Krakt is the lecherous, drunk uncle in the otherwise reserved
Seattle techno family. The night—which celebrates its third
anniversary of continuous, unbridled existence this week—sets
itself apart as the home for harder, more aggressive styles of techno
(aka “techno with teeth”). This isn’t music for navel gazing or
production admiring; it’s music for working out aggression and getting
pummeled by beats. Its locale—Re-bar—is dark, the speakers
are loud, and if you aren’t leaving sweaty, you’ve done something wrong
(or have a gland problem). Krakt’s music is no less intelligent than
its contemporaries, but it’s a night that’s unafraid to rattle your
ribcage.
“The idea was to create this iconoclastic brand,” says Krakt
promoter Kristina Childs. “The whole idea was to have good techno music
and have people get drunk, party, and have a good time—we’re
trying to create the vibe of the Detroit underground/Midwest circa the mid-’90s.”
Krakt projects that brand beyond the music. For years, its marketing
has consisted of messages from the Krakt Monster, a creature that
presents the month’s bill through broken phrases, with recurring themes
of sex, drugs, and general debauchery: Krakt hate audience. Krakt
hate staff. Hate everything but techno and booze. It’s a clever
stroke, taking the piss out of the overly serious techno scene and
making the night accessible to anyone looking for a party. To nail the
point home, Krakt’s flyers describe the night as the unholy union of
three primary elements: “techno, booze, and bitches.”
To celebrate Krakt’s third anniversary, Childs is importing Glasgow,
UK’s Alex Smoke. Smoke runs a dark streak through the sparse,
detail-orientated sound of minimal, with tracks that sound just a bit
evil. His aesthetic is well suited for Krakt, where dark and evil are
signatures. Even the names involved are a perfect fit: “Smoke Krakt.”
Perfect—Krakt feeds Seattle’s techno habit.
Krakt’s three-year anniversary edition will be held on Sat Dec 8,
at Re-bar, 10 pm, $12, 21+.
Marrying experimental electronic production techniques with hiphop,
Prefuse 73 bridges the gap between the two worlds, writing songs
that get heads nodding but feature enough distortion and effects to
warrant being signed to trendsetting Warp Records. He collaborates
equally with MCs and indie rockers, layering their vocals over beds of
samples and heavy-hitting drums. Thursday’s show features a full
drum kit, so Prefuse’s knob-twiddling and laptop manipulations will
be complemented by a live touch. Expect a performance of “The Class of
73 Bells,” the dreamy collaboration with openers School of Seven
Bells.
Prefuse 73 plays Neumo’s on Thurs Dec 6, 8 pm, $13, all
ages.
Foscil, the more serious counter to beloved 8-bit rockers
Truckasauras, has taken up a monthly residency at BLVD Gallery for the first half of 2008. Foscil creates electro-acoustic downtempo
with horns, synths, and drum machines, chill-out music from the future.
For this residency, the group is adopting a different concept for each
edition, modifying the instrumentation (no sequencing, or all
electronic), playing other people’s music (live presentation of fellow
Fourthcity affiliate E.R.DON’s album), and other interesting
twists.
Bonkers! is back! After a shooting inside Sugar postponed its
previous installment—and shut Sugar down for good—the
“Night of Fresh Hot Braindance” has been relocated to Re-bar on
December 19! Look for further info in this space! I’m gonna go lay
down! 