WEDNESDAY 3/25
HIGHBROW ABSTRACT-ELECTRONIC BONANZA WITH MATT CARLSON, LIMITS, RAICA, GAREK DRUSS
This incredible bill is like a mini–Debacle Fest of its own, filled with some of the most advanced talent in the Northwest. Raica (Seattle's Chloe Harris) creates profoundly dark and strange abstract electronic compositions on analog synths, as exemplified on her latest LP, Dose, which you can hear on Further Records' Bandcamp. Garek Druss (keyboardist for A Story of Rats, Dull Knife) has developed into a highly refined crafter of sublimely solemn drones, as his aptly titled Debacle Records album Music for the Celestial Din proves. LIMITS are the utterly distinctive performance-art duo formed by sound designer Jason E. Anderson (Brother Raven) and dancer/choreographer Corrie Befort. Befort's supremely limber, b-girl-inflected moves enhance Anderson's array of idiosyncratic, extreme-frequency jams. Their 2014 Debacle Fest set still astounds me. Besides helping to make astral-jazz/minimal-electronics duo Golden Retriever one of Thrill Jockey's most excellent bands, Matt Carlson stands as one of the most inventive synth players in America. Every Carlson performance I've caught has been an overwhelming display of bizarre tonal abstract expressionism in diverse idioms, intensely swarming. I keep calling him the Morton Subotnick of the 21st century, and one day you'll believe me. Kremwerk, 9 pm, $5, 21+.
DETROIT LABELS AND JAPAN LOVE CANADIAN TECH-HOUSE STAR RENNIE FOSTER
The second edition of Roman Zawodny's Release weekly features Rennie Foster, a Vancouver DJ/producer who's recorded for prestigious labels like Transmat, Synewave, and F Communications. Foster's soulful, texturally rich tracks have won support from a load of world-class DJs, including Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, Danny Tenaglia, and James Holden. From 2004 to 2011, Foster lived in Japan and entered that country's upper echelon of club jocks—a rare achievement for foreigners there. Back in Canada, Foster remains one of that nation's most skilled purveyors of space-trekkin', rhythmically sophisticated dance-floor anthems; check out the awe-inspiring "Monochasm" for proof. With Gene Lee and Rob Noble. Corbu Lounge, 10 pm, free before 11 pm/$5 till midnight/$10 after, 21+.
FRIDAY 3/27
ELEVATOR CREW CELEBRATES NEW RELEASES BY BARDO:BASHO, SIMIC
Two of the region's most promising young producers—Bardo:Basho (Kirsten Thom) and Simic (Ben Block)—are celebrating the release of new albums tonight. Elevator will be putting out the former, Bardo:Basho, on cassette/digital on March 27; Dublin-based Rubadub issues the latter's Ogden Place. The Bardo:Basho tape reflects Thom's more song-oriented, vocal-based work, before she began more thoroughly exploring minimal techno. Its seven tracks waft into the ethereal, processional territory of early Dead Can Dance. Thom's also a brilliantly chilling singer, a rarity for electronic musicians. Simic's Ogden Place suggests that he's ready to ascend to the major leagues of techno, Pantha Du Prince division. His tracks are smoothly propulsive and totally in the eerie, spacey zone for those gently disorienting after-hours moments. With AOS and Brigid. Machine House Brewery, 9 pm, $5, all ages. 
