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etc: Academia 2002.May.25 00:30 270minutes @ WNUR, Evanston-Chicago

m50...
Tstewart : [unknown - track6] : [unreleased]
Epoq : Simpel : Scintilla [unreleased] : Surgery
Sense : Metamatics Remix By Sense - Byaway Clam : [unreleased]
Epoq : For The Ears Of The Stars : Scintilla [unreleased] : Surgery
Cell : Six Quid For Sick Squid : [unreleased]
Tstewart : [unknown - track1] : [unreleased]
Cell : creditcardexpansionslot2 : [unreleased]
Epoq : Early Morning Pain : Scintilla [unreleased] : Surgery
Digitonal : Pirtlive : [unreleased]
Funckarma : [hidden track] : Nummer Een : DUB
Proem : Below Me Reds : Negativ : Merck
Funckarma : Nu Shuz (2000 Mix) : Neurokinetic (Digital) : Toytronic
Codec : Bliss - Through A Veil Of Boredom Mix by Proem : Amalgamation : Component
Lamb : Gabrielle - Final Mix by Funckarma : [unreleased] :
Proem : Glass : Neurokinetic (Digital) : Toytronic
Gridlock : Estrella - Funckarma Remix : [unreleased] : Hymen
Proem : Old School Pudding : Burn Plate 1 : Hydrant
Funckarma : Arati : Solid State : DUB
Proem : Access Mike [Failure To Connect] : Negativ : Merck
Funckarma : VCS 3 : Parts : DUB
Plaid : Cold - Funckarama Remix : [unreleased]
Funckarma : Pullup +5v : Nummer Drie : DUB
Phasmid : Buhaba : [unreleased]
Ilkae : Vinegar : [pre-release]
Endorphins : [track 2] : CD Bonus : Eat This
Elleinad : Underscored : [unreleased]
Neotropic : High Fibre : Generation v.3 : Bip-Hop
Twine : one_2 : Generation v.4 : Bip-Hop
Quench : Triton : Exclude : Eat This
Quench : Fudge : Exclude : Eat This
Quench : Zero : Exclude : Eat This
Quench : Printed : Exclude : Eat This
Sumimasin : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Subcode : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
L'Usine : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Legowelt : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Orgue Electronique : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Arnoud : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Headcollision : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Tronikgatan : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Endorphins : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Quick & Brite : [untitled] : Jip Sampler : Eat This
Aspen : My Music Is In Your Mouth : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery
Fizzarum : Exivyd : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery
Lackluster : 11/11/99 : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery
Duann : Loose Change : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery
Octopus Inc : Open Tooth : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery
K-Rad : 174Lemn : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery
Boulderdash : Casio Kid : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery
Mitchell Akiyama : I Tride : Initial Release Compilation : Surgery

Christophe from mfive.org (and unscene!! 2009) phoned, sounds like an interesting project / group of projects. Also, a random guy wandered in to this show around 2:25. Nice enough it seemed, he was a music major who was coming home from practicing guitar and heard the concert up in Annie May Swift but wandered into the radio station part. He was amazed by the grandeur of it all. Amusing. XXsmurf also phoned and Fen surprised me and came by for the end of the set. A somewhat disappointing evening in that I wasn't able to cover nearly all the material I'd intended. Oh well, hopefully it wasn't too ambitious an undertaking for me to be able to finish soon.

There were a couple things I couldn't fit in to the first segment of Academia, so there's going to be a catch-up show next week.

Academia:
Hour 1 - The Unreleases:
including: Sense, Elleinad, Craque, Phasmid, Epoq, Cell, Drencom, Ilkae, Tstewart
Some of the best stuff coming out in music these days isn't even hitting the shelves. Threatening to get lost in the shuffle are some artists who are making truly standout work that is only getting heard here and there on compilations and so on. Here's to the brave pilgrims:

Sense hails from .au with releases out on Neo Ouija and Aural Industries.

Craque is from Chicago and has established a reputation for organic, reactive live performances as well as an EP out on Metatron.

Phasmid is another American with a Plone meets 8-bit construction set sensibility of lo-fi playful resonance, an EP out on Monotonik.

Elleinad is a talented, wonderful musician from Toronto, Canada who has stepped onto the field of IDM after significant forays into ambient and jungle.

Epoq is an Australian music student with a forthcoming (very soon) full-length release on Tim Koch's Surgery Recordings, as well as an assortment of compilation tracks.

Tstewart aka Machinedrum aka Syndrone. Merck label stalwart and musical vortex, upcoming album under this moniker is sure to turn even more heads than he already has.

Ilkae is Vexion and Dazee. Vexion is Vexion and Dazee is Trisome. Vexion is also working with Proswell. Vexion is also Aaron. Ilkae is trans-atlantic.


Hour 2 - Crunch: Funckarma v Proem
Both performers who have been releasing music for a number of years now. Funckarma has been put out on such labels as DUB & Clone, Neo Ouija and Isophlux with a characteristically hip-hop oriented twist on their .nl based interpretation of crunchy techno, industrial, and braindance. They've been in more places than you know and have been on every landmark compilation in the last couple years (Neurokinetic, Men With Boxes, Annexe, Nummer Een, Nummer Drie, Raginakudo, Ambient Soho, Starfish Pool meets v/a series, n5md compilation series). Proem, meanwhile, has been cranking out releases stateside on n5md, M3rck, Hydrant, Monotonik, Toytronic, Carpark and Component. Most impressive to me have been his abilities to translate other people's music through his own filter of textural and melodic process and his consistant ability to put together a truly cohesive live set on the fly. He is what the new rapping-dancing-entertaining school of IDM complains about when they scoff at pure musicianship, and they hate him because he does it so well. Funckarma and Proem may be miles apart, but they'll both kick your ass with their industrial-strength, inorganic, killer hybrid musicianship. As for the connection? Well, look out for the Gridlock remix 12" on Hymen to see them in the same place at the same time.


Hour 3 - .be+.fr v .nl+.de:
.be:
U-Cover
A creative engine of a label, U-cover has supported acts from all over the world, as well as creating and continuing the Starfish Pool meets... project in which various artists exchange musical phrases in the form of locked-grooves (endlessly repeating cycles in a vinyl recording). With very promising publications still on the horizon, this will continue to be a label to watch for spanning many genres of listening music. U-Cover Inc-US division has been established for North American distribution.

.fr:
Bip-Hop
Phillipe Petite's brainchild, this label now is home to two compilation series' as well as a quality assortment of full-length albums. Often ranging into abrasiveness and melancholy, this is another group of releases which aren't afraid to push boundaries, some of its artists are established in the craft of sound-installations. Check out the website for a taster of the interactive vision that Bip-Hop continues to push as it ignores borders and unites ideas.

.nl:
Eat-This
Growing in leaps and bounds, Eat-this has just launched Jip Recordings with a debut release (and requisite gala) featuring electronic nocturnes and lulabyes. Eat-this's production generally rests roughly in the territory of distribution-mate Djak-up-bitch and is carving up the territory of IDM meets electro meets techno meets ambient. All of the releases on this label have been worthy of required-listening status, and have introduced some new names while maintaining ties with the well-established contingent of local electronic acts. Noted contributions have been made by Funckarma, L'usine, and Gimmik, with ties running through Musik Aus Strom, Worm Interface, Clone, DUB, Isophlux and so on.

FWD is a division of Eevolute distributed by Clone releasing IDM and ambient techno. With a brief catalog so far, Stefan Robbers has assembled some of the most elite artists, having included .de's Arovane and .us's Acceleradeck alongside his own EPs on the label.

.de:
Lux Nigra
Marching to its own drummer, Multipara's Lux Nigra label has managed to manufacture with minimal fanfare a solid and unique catalog of incomperable releases. Defying any standard description, these tend to range anywhere from hissing-sucking-breathing-grinding noise (no movement, no sound, no memories) to anthemic hard-techno floorburners (biochip c) to videogame soundtracks for 8-bit movies (Frederik Schikowski). Unfortunately, this label has remained so enigmatic that it's been difficult for the press, or likely even the fans, to pin down in any particular genre or narrow interest-group. Quality and originality are the benchmark here and 'LN' continues to push forward in that regard, even while retrospectively reissuing (HOPEFULLY) their long-unavailable initial release compilation, this time to 'polycarbonatum.'

Hour 4 - .us, .au:
.us:
Antenna
Antenna, created by Billy Dalessandro and Joshua Werner, is the home also of Marko Katic. Think dark tech-electro. Only a pair of releases to date but hints have been dropped that Yuppster and other local IDM purveyors may end up turning this label towards the more cerebral side of electronic. Yet to be seen...

Someoddpilot:
A design firm and recording label. These guys show their habitat by supporting local acts who tend to wear their Chicago influence as a badge of honour. Releases from this label tend to have creative edgy interior-design styled art and are characterized either by the glitchy noise meets sparse industrial of TRS-80 and Salvo Beta or the Tortoise / Thrill Jockey feel, though diverging quite a bit from there with much of the rest of their roster.

Emphasis:
Another fledgling Chicago techno label. Steve Tang's creations are the more melodic, swooning, futuristic, emotional and dynamic side of Detroit-influenced techno and his production skill and taste has shown on the label's output to date. Look forward to a resurgence by this artist and label in 2002.

.au:
Surgery
Tim Koch picks the music for this label. How could it possibly go wrong? Most of these are worth the price of admission just for the cover art.

Red Ember
First release featuring Emphasis Recordings' Steve Tang. A good starting point.