For those living in S.F. who cringe at the thought of trying to make the last BART at midnight, here is a night when Oakland comes to you. On Tuesday, February 21, the Elbo Room features an "evening of avant-garde industrial, space synth, and minimalistic cold wave" among other "delights" featuring V.E.X., Night Work, Stacian, and The Creatrix, with DJ sets by Nihar Bhatt (Left Hand Path/Surface Tension) and Demian Glas (Milwaukee).
V.E.X is a meritage blend of no-wave, queercore, and slime punk (you may have heard of their previous, more rock-focused band Moira Scar). Roxy Monoxide and LuLu GammaRay play dual synths, both do vocals, and they sometimes even add sax for an improv jazz element. They came out with two albums last year, Codex Hex ( Cool World/ Fantasy 1 Records) and Insectsex (the latter on Oakland's own Ratskin Records), and are currently working on new material. Lyrically focused on pro-community, anti-fascist, and anti-racist messages, they take another step in removing any ego-driven barriers by performing in bizarre and bejeweled masks made by LuLu. V.E.X. will steal your little mutant heart.
Night Work is an experimental industrial pair formed by Henry Larsen (vocals) and Jamile Jackson (drum machine/noise). In their live show, they might make you feel uncomfortable at times, but that's the point. Slamming drum machine work, jarring beats, and vocals that blend screaming and spoken monologues create a performance that is captivating and unnerving — think of splicing Swans' Filth with a Boyd Rice album. "Night Work is a reaction to the evils of our society," explains Henry Larsen. "It is a survival mechanism for our spirit amongst the cancer of capitalism." You won't want to look away.
With two analog keyboards, a sequencer, and a drum machine, Milwaukee-born solo act Stacian fuses minimal/cold wave sounds with darkwave female vocals spiked with nostalgic moments of '90s techno. Inspired by Kraftwerk and Doris Norton, what you get is moody, haunting club bangers to sway and dance to. Also make sure to check out her most recent album, the ambient collection Drones for Everyday Use. Swoon!
More approachable in delivery, The Creatrix is all electronic melodies and cosmic-wave/techno meditations, sonically plush yet cool in tone, and erring on the side of hypnotically upbeat grooves. No vocals here, but who needs that when you're going down the rabbit hole of rave cave soundscapes? "Breach in the Hulll" is a fine example of this mind/body journey.
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/244398036010417
V.E.X.: https://xanaxax.bandcamp.com
Night Work: https://soundcloud.com/nightwork_inc
Stacian: https://stacian.bandcamp.com
The Creatrix: https://soundcloud.com/fanciullagentile
No comments:
Post a Comment