This year’s Decibel Festival may be the best ever. Now in its sixth
edition, Decibel—through the outstanding curatorship of
director Sean Horton—continues to further its reputation as a
world-class event on the level of Montreal’s MUTEK.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice an annual pattern
with regard to this local digital-arts extravaganza. Every year, a
financial crisis forces Decibel’s fate to dangle dangerously over the
precipice. Somehow, somewhere, the dB crew secures funds and proceeds
to book a lineup consisting of dozens of phenomenal talents. It’s an
old story, but I for one never tire of hearing it—mainly because
most of the characters change and the sounds they create deviate enough
from year to year to avoid stagnation.
This annum presents another overwhelming bounty of electronic
music, over 100 artists harvested locally, nationally, and
globally. You’ll see obscure names on the schedule, of course, but
those acts often end up being the most revelatory. Be adventurous; odds
are your risks will pay off. And rest up, for you’re going to need as
much energy as you can muster to hit all of Decibel’s peaks.
Guaranteed, no showcase will suck. However, as you’re not
perpetual-motion machines blessed with unlimited attention spans,
you’ll have to be selective. Below I outline the acts that should be
your top priorities, but do try to catch as many sets as you can in
this, Seattle’s gift to cutting-edge multimedia creativity. (Go to
www.dbfestival.com for all the
details.)
THURS SEPT 24
Deepchord Presents: Echospace (Neumos, 10:30 pm)
Echospace—Chicago’s Steve Hitchell (Soultek) and Detroit’s Rod
Modell (Deepchord)—loyally carry Basic Channel’s brilliant
dub-techno torch into the 21st century with glacial grandeur. Nobody
currently plows this rich vein of subliminal dance music with deeper
understanding than Echospace. Their techno drips with Arctic Oceanic
coolness.
Benga (Neumos, 12:30 am) One of British dubstep’s most
consistently inventive producers, Benga is responsible—with
Coki—for the ubiquitous genre classic “Night,” revealing his
mastery of chilling atmospheres and gut-churning rhythms. Diary of
an Afro Warrior is dubstep’s Bitches Brew.
FRI SEPT 25
Frank Bretschneider (Seattle Art Museum, 9 pm)
Bretschneider’s productions are ultraminimal, precisely gridlike, and
vacuum packed, yet somehow groovy and sexy as fuck. Nobody’s made
abstract, pointillist sound design seem so funky with so few elements.
It’s a miracle, really. Dude’s the James Brown of clicks &
cuts.
Rob Hood (Neumos, 9:30 pm) Ex–Underground
Resistance member Hood (aka Monobox) ranks among minimal techno’s most
disciplined and creative technicians ever. His rock-ribbed, bare-bones
tracks are nearly unmatched for their visceral power and rigorous
contours. Don’t miss one of techno’s immortals in action.
Nerd Revolt (Electric Tea Garden, 1:30 am) In their brief
time together, classically trained Seattle duo m.0 and the iLL.F.O.
have ascended to near the top of this city’s populous live-techno
mountain. m.0 is a former laptop battle champ and renowned gear geek
with an arsenal of plug-ins, hardware and software synths, Ableton
Live, and other tools that both members use on the fly onstage. Nerd
Revolt have translated their long hours of, uh, nerdishness into
potent, libidinous techno of anthemic proportions. They’re poised to be
Seattle techno’s next breakout artist.
Bruno Pronsato (Church of Bass, 3:30 am) Relocating to Berlin
in 2006, former Seattleite Pronsato’s become a global sensation,
forging some of the world’s most texturally interesting, structurally
unpredictable, and strangely sensual experimental techno to date. His
2005 MUTEK performance remains one of the greatest techno sets I’ve
seen, but years on the international circuit surely have honed
Pronsato’s live skills to even higher levels. Give this man a returning
hero’s welcome.
SAT SEPT 26
Dave Aju (Sole Repair, 11 pm) Making excellent quirky
tech-house ain’t easy, but Aju cracked the code with Open Wide,
a skewed, freewheeling dance album concocted strictly from sounds
created with his mouth. Oral auralism you can shake your ass
to—that’s ingenuity. But Aju’s much more than a one-gimmick pony.
His work without piehole shenanigans also cuts a funny rug with
off-kilter inventiveness and soul.
Martyn (Church of Bass, 4:30 am) One of the most exciting,
unconventional dubstep producers in the game, the Dutch-born Martyn
produces tracks equipped with alluring melodies and powered by agile,
irregular beats. Drawing inspiration from Chicago house, Detroit
techno, and UK drum ‘n’ bass, Martyn boasts a rich well of studio
tricks from which to construct his dazzling productions. Check out his
Great Lengths album for abundant proof.
SUN SEPT 27
Christina Vantzou (Seattle Asian Art Museum, 4:15 pm) Member
of the Dead Texan with Stars of the Lid’s Adam Wiltzie, Brussels-based
visual artist/musician Vantzou dapples stately, pastel, ambient tone
poems over figurative, animated images that glide, dissolve, and
disintegrate in graceful slow motion. The aesthetic toggles between
unconventional advertising and avant-garde nature documentary. A
lovely, sighing pleasure.
Mountains (Triple Door, 7:45 pm) This Brooklyn duo achieve a
shimmering, shiver-inducing stasis through guitars and computers, like
an American-bred Fennesz. Subtle gradations of tone and texture
generate a sonic moiré effect; plangent acoustic guitar plucks
meet digital processing, catgut meets silicon chip, and everyone
listening drifts into the ether, googly-eyed ever after.
You suck. Your article sucks. Why do I have to be informed that N-Type, the biggest dub step dj in the world, is playing the festival by locals but it’s mentioned no where in your recommendations to see him? This years Decibel Festival is focused primarily on Dubstep. Dubstep is the “soup de’ jour” in Seattle and I don’t think your article reflected that relevant fact at all. You’re totally out of touch and your writing about OUR scene is garbage. I hope you get canned soon. You need to move on. Take a moment to reflect on what I’ve said. It’s the truth.
You didn’t even mention CASPA! Can somebody wake up and realize that this guy does not keep in touch with this scene?!
I’m sorry I should’ve said all this at once, but I gotta mention… go read the Hip Hop article. Larry Mizell writes an excellent take on the Seattle Hip Hop scene. You can tell the man interacts with the people who really do comprise our local music landscape. I don’t hear you mention any REAL local dj’s or artists except on the rare occasion where they’ve courted you and gotten you to write the piece. The picture you paint of our scene is weak and boring. But the truth is, our scene is strong, you’re just weak and boring. Can somebody get this guy a cab?
RA KHAN- There was already a FEATURE on the Dub Step aspect of the festival, IN THE STRANGER. Aside from the fact that Dub Step doesn’t exactly need MORE attention than it’s already getting, Dave is obviously highlighting the acts that are otherwise fairly unknown and underrated, because…. that’s what he does.
Here’s a whole piece on Seattle’s Dubstep Invasion:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/dubst…
RA KHAN- I think you need to wake up and realize that Dub Step is only one part of the rich variety the Decibel Festival’s 100+ artists have to offer… Step back a minute and consider that this article doesn’t claim to be an all-encompassing guide to the festival, it was just Dave’s picks. We have gone to the festival for the past 5 years with all access passes, seeing as many shows as we can… and I have to say dubstep is by no means the strongest memory or experience… maybe you should open your eyes to some of the other stuff going on. I appreciate your passion but your uniformed spewing towards Dave is misplaced. “Not in touch with the scene?” I laugh at that comment. How many of Dave’s articles over the past decade have you actually read?? Enjoy the festival and YES, we will not miss the dubstep shows! Cheers!
Ra Khan,
You do disservice to the work that others have done over the years for Dubstep in your city. Be thankful for those who have gone to the effort to deliver you multiple opportunities to see the best in the world, and I’m not just talking about N-Type. Benga, SubSwara, Hobbs, Mala, Boxcutter, Pinch, DJG, Moldy, Martyn are all in Seattle this weekend. London itself would be lucky to get all those folks in a weekend. Note the fact that there’s a separate article that speaks to the bass orientation of this year’s DB Fest and then get off the pedestal and into the nearest bassbin.
Dubstep has some hot beats…but it isn’t my favorite genre of electronic music… not by far. I’m not the champion of Dubstep… never have been nor will I ever claim to be. I can safely say that I like a lot of the people I know who are down with Dubstep more than the music itself. But, I do enjoy a sizable portion of the music (not sure I could say most) and a lot of the events. (Personally I like faster beats. I’m diggin’ more on Glitch, Electro-House and Bassline these days). I agree my earlier comments were harsh and maybe a little much especially in tone, for that I apologize. I mean no ill-will toward the man except that I’d like to see him be replaced as the writer for this section. I think it came out so intensely because it’s a frustration carried over from the feelings I’ve had about other articles I’ve read by him. I realize now that I should tone things down to really get my point across. Others tend to avoid the purpose when the delivery is too harsh. So let my try this again.
What I was making light of was the fact that it’s impossible not to notice that Decibel has decided to focus on Dubstep this year and that Dubstep IS in fact the sound of the day here in the Seattle area. A fact never really eluded to in his article. (I know, I know, some of you religiously hate Dubstep… but sorry, you’re vastly outnumbered). In fact it was a notion blatantly left out or carelessly left out of his article all together… neither speaks well to the mans ability to write a good article. It really isn’t a big deal to me that Dubstep is highlighted other than for the fact it is the music with momentum in Seattle’s electronic music scene and it’s a HUGE part of this year’s festival. Point blank. Not talking about that fact is like avoiding the 900pd gorilla so to speak. Like I said, I’m diggin’ other genre’s right now mainly. I made this point to illustrate the fact that Dave Segal seems like someone unworthy of such an important and purposeful job here in the Northwest’s electronic music scene. He has no clue what’s really going on. In another article he wrote that “Dubstep was an unlikely fit with Pioneer Square” when everyone knows SHIFT has been at Contour at least a couple years now along with Dubstep sets regularly going on at Trinity on Thursdays. I suspect some of you coming to Dave’s rescue know him. I’m sure he’s a nice guy. I’m sure he has some great written work… just none of it has been going into the Stranger… at least since I’ve been paying attention to it…. and that’s been a while.
An example of an excellent article about a music genre is Larry Mizell’s article. Larry’s article goes everywhere from talking about recent local news effecting Hiphop in general to new local music to the big names comin’ to play a big venue and who’s opening up for them. He talks about who’s relevant and what’s relevant, as in the shows that people really wanna go to. When have I seen Dave Segal breathe a word about Flave? Or Grym? Or Romero? Or Dirty? Or Onset? Or Uniting Souls? Or Shift? Or Flammable? Or many other names, places and events truly relevant to what’s going on around here? Seldom, if ever. It’s about time our regular movers and shakers got noticed. The names I listed about should be in there at least once a month if not almost every week. He always picks out some obscure IDM blah to talk about. Also… I’m sorry, it’s a BIG DEAL that Caspa and N-Type are playing at Decibel Festival and he doesn’t even say a word about it in his recommendations! He recommends Benga’s aaaannnnoooooyyyyinng commercial squid crap out of all the Dubstep he could’ve mentioned… blah! Everyone who knows is for sure going to the Caspa show at Motor and MAYBE they’ll go to the Mad Professor/Benga show at Neumo’s. Gas Lamp Killer is gonna be some serious business on Sunday and that’s FREE! Gas Lamp Killer isn’t even mentioned! I seriously think the Stranger should consider getting someone with a lot more of an up to date look at the Electronic music scene. Someone who actually comes out maybe. That guy is seen once in a blue moon at the big electronic shows. A person with a comparable audience is Drew Bailey. That guy knows what he’s talking about. Not just from a musical knowledge standpoint but where our city is and what the people in the clubs and parties think. Drew grinds like a horse and you can tell he hangs out in the scene… and he doesn’t even get paid! This guy writes a sub-par article, doesn’t show up to shit and gets… tada! PAID. I think it’s about time the Stranger got another writer for the Electronic Music section. I could name 20 people off the top of my head who would write an article 100x’s better than the junk this guy pukes out every week. So hate me if you want. I’m just telling it how I see it. 😛
Ra Khan- Dave Segal is championing the obscure acts here. You have to understand that all the acts you are talking about don’t necessarily need extra promotion. Gaslamp Killer? Does it really matter if Segal recommends them? That show is going to be packed. You can read about a lot of these acts in other places. If you’re going to argue about the merit of his writing in general, that’s fine. He’s got particular tastes, so does Mudede, and so does Grandy. They all tend to skew in their own particular directions. I’m sure you can read more about Dubstep and more mainstream dance stuff in other mags, but critics are not always, and should not always be in lockstep with a genre’s popularity. They are tastemakers, not simply reporters. Dubstep and Hip Hop are being covered extensively by the Stranger. It doesn’t matter that it’s not Dave that’s the one writing about it.
Dear RA KHAN:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/dubst…
Peace.
RA KHAN = total douche
Dave supports a huge range of music is this city
and were damn luck to have him.
Why don’t your get your facts straight next time.
If you want to direct your anger at someone fucking up in an article about dubstep this week, another local paper wrote that the Caspa show will be “very, very loud. Earplugs recommended.”. I don’t know if they had to pad out their 50 words or more recommendation of the show or they are on staff for the publication No Shit Quarterly, but what the fuck does that mean? Loud club music is loud? Thanks for the news flash. That’s who you should be hating on!!!
Ra Khan-
You are wrong. Take it. Oh, Shift is at Trinity? That does not make a scene out of it. How many dubstep live PAs have you heard from locals??? MM? If its less than a couple dozen (local) artists, whoops! Its still just a blip in the corner of our map. And that means no disrespect to the hardworking Shift crew or anyone else working with it, I’m very glad that I can hear different flavors of dubstep, things that verge on not even being dubstep, in this city.
Shoot I remember Dave writing up Struggle back before he went back to DJing house and disco!!!! OHman that was so long ago, like 2 years at least, way before dubstep was so in like it is now…. oh hoho. Oh, yeah, thanks for paying attention to dubstep when it was so much smaller Dave!!!!! Great work from you once again! Maybe this boy has never followed your lead and discovered some of the amazing music being produced in his own city, waiting until things are now and of-the-moment (such as dubstep, glitch, and electro-house).
Ra Khan, why not just do your cerebral cortex a favor and stop spitting out all the genrespotting unnecessaries? Enjoy yourself and be open to the arts, you’ll thank yourself later.
I just got the new Stranger. So I was wrong. Flat out. He wrote a good summary of events along with a cross reference of a lot of relevant (and some not so relevant) info. That was a really cool write up. I still would like to see someone new on the job but I went overboard and accept the ill-feelings I’m sure I conjured up.
I still feel his recommendations weren’t stellar and Seattle would still be better served by a replacement but I am totally guilty of not reading the whole thing and Dave did write up a good piece. I humbly apologize. I felt pretty strong about this when I wrote it initially but realize now just going off on the guy was a poor way to express myself and be heard… plus I probably got a little too into disliking him. Not a good way to bee. I did look ignorant. Hope I’m not hated too much. Anyways. Off to the party! You guys can hate me in person if you want. I’ll be at the Caspa show. Or… you can tell me about how wrong I am and laugh about it.
ps. I totally love music from Seattle and the Northwest. Many of my favorites are my friends. Whole other discussion. Bassline is really my favorite style of beats right now. Not very big over-all in the area though I’d say. I’m also very much a strong fan of the Hipstep style of Drum’n’Bass, also not exactly the sound with big momentum. I like what I like, I identify the best way I can so it’s easy to understand for you or whoever is reading. I’m not really stuck to genre’s either, but labeling things helps when trying to relay the idea. But yeah, like you, I’m just into good music. Those “genre’s” are just easy ways to explain where my interests have tended towards lately.
IMOUT!
@ Ra Khan, change your maxi pad, Dave is a stellar writer and what you initially said was of poor taste regardless of how you try and justify it now. Dub-Step, slowed down drum and bass from the early to mid 90’s, if that is your idea of innovation in a proper style, well, I have a suggestion, take a razor blade, run the bath, light a candle, take said razor and run through wrist (horizontally) maybe you’ll get it in the next life or place you visit.