Data Breaker

Ctrl_Alt_Dlt (Chris Aldrich) is yet another metro Detroiter who
migrated west to Seattle (in 2005) and added his techno-centric
knowledge and skills to our robust DJ gene pool.

“Seattle always had this allure for me, and it seemed like a great
place to live,” Aldrich says. “I had no idea what the music scene was
like out here, but I have been really impressed with the caliber of
musicians and the enthusiasm for the kind of music that I play and
techno in general.”

A guitar and saxophone student from fifth grade on, Aldrich
discovered techno in 1999 and began DJing the next year. “I… explored
a lot of different sounds until I finally came to the conclusion that
techno is what I wanted to explore,” he explains. “Detroit was so
technocentric and I was exposed to so much great music in those early
years, it really set the foundation for where I am at with EDM
today.

“I cut my teeth here in Seattle in terms of actually becoming a DJ
and really refined my sound,” he continues. “I feel like in the last
year I have really come to understand where techno is going and the
sound that I am looking for.”

Some cuts that represent that sound include “a phenomenal, very
groovy track called ‘Now Is the Time’ by Layo and Bushwacka.
Another really good one is ‘The Wasps from Tunisia and the Silver
Piggy’by Mark August. I have also really been digging
‘Underwater’ by Rafael Gomez—a good party starter with a
cool vocal.”

A dedicated student of the genre that sprouted in the Motor City
(with some seminal help from Kraftwerk, of course), Ctrl_Alt_Dlt
possesses impeccable taste and smooth mixing skills that have led to
him getting booked at Detroit’s Movement and Seattle’s Decibel
festivals.

The mix that Ctrl_Alt_Dlt performed at Movement at an opening-night
party was a slinky trawl through the supreme cream of subterranean
left-field techno. The cuts he dropped by [a]pendics.shuffle,
Jeff Samuel, Chelonis R. Jones, Varoslav, and
others aren’t exactly peak-time material; rather, they soundtrack that
hazy, heady afterhours zone when the various illicit substances really
kick in. Understatement and strangeness prevail over obvious
hands-skyward fodder, but heads will lock onto the sly grooves
Ctrl_Alt_Dlt spins with surgical precision. It’s fun, but not typical
fare you can hear anywhere.

Aldrich is a member of the Sweatbox clique, who just launched
a new weekly with DJ partner Pantycontrol (Jonathan Herrera)
called Snapshot at Jai Thai restaurant on Capitol Hill (Thurs 10
pm–2 am, free, 21+). The night will focus on “forward-thinking
techno, minimal, and house.”

Recommended shows—Broken Disco: Mochipet, Andrew
Luck vs. Dosadi, PrEssHa, WD4D, Jerry Abstract, 31avas, M.Quiet on Fri
June 19, Chop Suey; Oscillate: Frivolous, Incite on Wed
June 24, Chop Suey.