Whoever writes a history of Seattle's small but vibrant experimental music community will marvel at the understated ubiquity of Doug Haire. A first-call producer/engineer for musicians delving into the avant, Haire is chiefly known as the longtime host of Sonarchy Radio, which can be heard every Saturday night on KEXP 90.3 FM. Dedicated to abstract electronics, field recordings, free improvisation, and adventurous grooves, the live broadcast serves as an incubator for sound artists from Seattle. It's a testament to Haire's skill at making a good session happen (and of course, sound great) that a healthy number of these musicians (including yours truly, back in 2000) end up releasing their live performances on CD.

For his own performance, Haire presents dozens of masterfully filtered and otherwise sumptuously processed location recordings of industrial expanses, exotic locales, and nature recordings from around the world. Prior to entering Polestar, you'll want to catch the evening's prelude on a secret broadcast frequency (hint: It's near 100 on your FM dial) at 7:00 p.m.

"I want to sonically soak the Polestar performance space," states Haire. "Not by necessarily being loud but by having sound emanate from all directions, much like how we experience sound in our everyday lives. By using a conventional method of distribution in an unconventional way, I can load the space with small speakers and surround the audience."

Included with admission is a new CD, The Crawford Opera. About his disc, whose title alludes to President Bush's Texas ranch, Haire is cryptic. "I've made an opera full of lies and deceit and it can't be trusted as a compact disc." Do not miss this gig. CHRISTOPHER DeLAURENTI

Hear Removed & Haunted Fri Dec 12 at 8 pm (Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 329-4224), $6.

chris@delaurenti.net