Tag: electronic

Perturbator, Author & Punisher: Using Devices To Debase Regent Theater

Rob Shepyer September 19, 2017

Electronic music allows a single artist to take on all the working parts of a band because those parts become synthesized in their machines. The electronic revolution has opened up new opportunities and avenues for artists who might not have ever been interested in picking up a guitar- and that’s no slight against EDM artists (up until this night I was under the impression that EDM was the Pop style of electronic music, at large). The point of music isn’t just to wow you and me with virtuosic and technical playing- it’s to express ones soul and if electronics help an artist do that more purely and directly then it’s a good thing. In this sense, Jim Morrison was right when he predicted the future of music would consist largely of one person and an arsenal of components. So if in Morrison’s mind’s eye he had an image of what that future would actually LOOK like, I doubt it would’ve differed too much from what I saw at The Regent Theater when Perturbator, Author & Punisher and Whiteqube were booked to showcase a different kind of electronic music than what you might imagine when you see the letters E D

Com Truise & Clark At Forefront of Breaking Stigma of Electronic Music

Aria Silva-Espinosa May 22, 2017

Electronic music often carries a heavy stigma for being repetitive or unoriginal. Unfortunately, many artists get lumped into the broad category of ‘EDM’ thus rendering their art unpalatable or unapproachable for a significant portion of music enthusiasts. What people fail to recognize is that, just as electric guitar is central to many genres of music, so is the overarching use of ‘electronic’ sound manipulation equipment in music. The Regent in the heart of Downtown L.A. hosted Clark and Com Truise on a Thursday night and the turnout was an impressive mix of people, a relatively diverse sample of audience members. As was expected, there was a significant number of visibly and obviously people under the influence of party drugs. Wide-eyed, they passed through the space respectfully and amicably. English electronic musician Chris Clark performs under the abridged moniker Clark. Although he was an opener for Com Truise’s headlining show, Clark absolutely blew it out of the water. He’s been in the scene since 2001, when his first album Clarence Park debuted on Warp Records. His set was about as dynamic as electronic music can be, ranging from deep house to an almost noise-rock sound. The experience is heightened by the

Smashing More Teeth With Youth Code Orange at Union Los Angeles

Danny Baraz February 2, 2017

On January 28th in the year of our lord, 2017, I was initiated into the Youth Code and Code Orange live shows when the front of my bottom row of teeth were smashed through the space between my bottom lip and my chin in a live show that literally left an ounce of my blood on the floor of Union nightclub in Los Angeles when the heavy industrial tech duo, Youth Code opened for Code Orange this past Saturday night. Moments before my injury was sustained, I was lamenting the sad reality of a stagnant audience standing still as they witnessed the heaviest band in electronic music since Front 242 and before Ministry went full metal on the masses of the New World Order. Singer, Sara Taylor handled the sad reality well until about 5 songs in when me and a couple of other kids took matters into our own hands and gently convinced the audience standing directly in front of the stage to dance. Shortly thereafter, I experienced a momentary blackness and disorientation and a mysterious numbness in my mouth and aching in my jaw. A bit confused, I put my hand to my mouth and it was instantly

Ghostface Killah and Raekwon at Low End Theory Fest

Annual Low End Theory Festival Spreads L.A. Wildfire Into Shrine Auditorium

Danny Baraz July 25, 2016

A radioactive, orange, spherical fiery orb in the sky hung just below a thick, impenetrable blanket of ash and dust from the sand fires burning the Angeles National Forrest, just 30 miles outside of Los Angeles. The distant wild fire choked my lungs and burned my eyes as I navigated the streets of South L.A. to enter the Shrine Auditorium for the third annual Low End Theory Festival in 2016. But even with the safety of distance from the flames, the most important beat collective in the world gets LIT af everytime they get together to dance and blaze and spark the imagination by pushing the envelope of sound, rhythm and rhyme. Whether you are a regular at Low End Theory’s home base on Wednesday’s at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights or you attended the festival because Wu-tang MC’s Ghostface Killah and Raekwon were at the top of the bill, you were a part of a movement that is shaping the future of music. It was clear, immediately, that attendance was down from the previous year’s sold out festival but it is no commentary on any type of waning influence. Last year, Low End Theory booked widely respected and beloved cross

Crystal Castles Tease LP 4 With New Song “Concrete”

Johann A. Ramos July 5, 2016

Crystal Castles premiere their third track since Ethan Kath split ways with Alice Glass last year. The track features vocals by Edith yet again, release date of their fourth full length not yet confirmed. Dates and Ticket Links for their summer tour in support of their new music: FRI JULY 8 2016 ATHENS, Greece – Ejekt Festival Tickets JULY 15-16 2016 VIENNA, Austria – Out Of The Woods Tickets THU JULY 21 2016 PORTLAND, OR – Wonder Ballroom Tickets FRI JULY 22 2016 SEATTLE, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party Tickets SAT JULY 23 2016 VANCOUVER, BC – Commodore Ballroom http://www.commodoreballroom.com/tickets/ JULY 29-31 2016 PLOCK, Poland – Audioriver Festival TIckets FRI AUGUST 05 2016 CASTELLON, Spain – Arenal Sound Festival Tickets SAT AUGUST 06 2016 PALERMO, Italy – Ypsigrock Festival Tickets FRI AUGUST 12 2016 PIESTANY, Slovakia – Grape Festival Tickets TUE AUGUST 16 2016 BUDAPEST, Hungary – Sziget Festival Tickets FRI AUGUST 19 2016 HASSELT, Belgium – Pukkelpop Festival Tickets SUN AUGUST 21 2016 LVIV, Ukraine – Zaxidfest Tickets FRI AUGUST 26 2016 READING FESTIVAL, UK – Reading & Leeds Festival Tickets SAT AUGUST 27 2016 LEEDS FESTIVAL, UK – Reading & Leeds Festival Tickets WED SEP 21 2016 2016

Janky Smooth’s Top 20 Artists to Watch in 2016

Danny Baraz January 15, 2016

In identifying Janky Smooth’s Artists to Watch in 2016, there were a number of factors to take into consideration. There are different levels and plateaus musicians can ascend to in their careers. There is the release of their first EP/7”. There is the release of their debut album and of course, the all-important sophomore LP. Any predicted success after those milestones is hardly a prediction unless it involves a comeback. When we define our artists to watch in 2016, it is using any and all of these criteria to identify buzz worthy bands. We want to help our readers get the jump on artists before corporate money corrupts their artistic process too much. While there are bands in this list based in cities other than Los Angeles, LA is our home base and seeing these bands live is a part of the process of selection. If you can’t do it live, you can’t do it! This is Janky Smooth’s List of Artists to Watch in 2016 20. Cavanaugh- Collaboration between Open Mike Eagle and Serengeti Time & Materials by Cavanaugh (Open Mike Eagle & Serengeti) 19. So Pitted- Punk/Post Punk Seattle Group on Sub Pop Records neo by

Moogfest Brings Dial Tones Event to Ace Hotel Los Angeles

Justin Cornwall December 29, 2015

Moogfest, Nosaj Thing and Dublab teamed up Sunday (12/20) night to bring LA “Dial-Tones”. The hour long presentation consisted of quick improvised performances by Nosaj Thing, Emily Kokal (Warpaint), DJ Dodger Stadium, Teebs, D Tiberio, Shlomo and many more. The event was partly to promote Moogfest 2016, who recently released their lineup, along with synthesizer building workshops that were held at the Ace Hotel during the day. Synthesizers (specifially Moog Werkstatt stations) built during the workshops were then later used as instruments for the performance. You may be familiar with the name Moog – but not many people know they were the FIRST to commercially manufacture modular analog synthesizers. And this all got started back in the 1960’s, far before dance music had any type of footing. Robert Moog (1934-2000), behind it all, is recognized as the pioneer of electronic music – his legacy is still in full swing today. Artists including Kraftwerk, Donna Summer, The Beach Boys and many others would not have cornerstones of their sound had it not been for Moog equipment. Nowadays, the Moog Music product lines include everything from bass synth keyboards, to an electric guitar and line of effects pedals, and plans to re-produce the original

Take This: STRFKR New Years Eve Ticket Giveaway at Teragram

Danny Baraz December 29, 2015

Janky Smooth is giving away tickets to the STRFKR New Years Eve show at the Teragram Ballroom for you and your ENTIRE crew of friends. Dance 2015 and the night away with STRFKR and Drug Cabin. Janky Smooth is giving away SIX TICKETS to one lucky winner and their friends. Winner will be announced Thursday, Dec 31st at 11 am pacific time. You can enter our ticket giveaway or you can Purchase Tickets Here Contest Rules: Follow Janky Smooth on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Share or Retweet our New Years Eve STRFKR ticket Giveaway posts Leave a comment on this post telling us one of your New Year’s Resolutions.

Year in Review: Top 10 Albums of 2015 Rated by Contributors

Danny Baraz December 14, 2015

10 years from now, we might look back at the Top 10 Albums of 2015 as the year the “new music industry” became a viable business model. As the battle rages to fine tune some of the sticky points around streaming services, vinyl sales soar at the same time bands and artists offer free downloads, surrendering the traditional model and entrusting their legacy to future generations. With so many different ways to deliver musical products to consumers, our Top 10 Albums of 2015 list will include LP’s, EP’s and Mixtapes. We are not a hive mind at Janky Smooth so you will find albums we didn’t publish favorable reviews on in our contributors top 10 list. We here at Janky Smooth feel blessed to stand on the precipice with you and gaze upon the vast landscape of music that is exploding from all corners of the world. Top 10 Albums/EP’s/Mixtapes of 2015 Johnny Ramos- Photographer: Top 10 Albums of 2015 Tame Impala – Currents Beach House – Depression Cherry Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color Death Grips – The Powers That B Toro Y Moi – What For? Turnover – Peripheral Vision Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love Hot Chip –

Confessions of a Miami Horror Convert From The El Rey

Paige Vreede December 8, 2015

It was a Wednesday evening and after a day of uni, interviewing a band, and transcribing that interview, the last thing I wanted to do was go to an overly positive, hyperactive pop show. Exhaustion and trepidation aside, I decided to head to the El Rey Theater to see Melbourne-based four piece, Miami Horror play alongside Slow Hands and Queen Magic. With the promise of Red Bull + vodkas compliments of Taylor Wong, and the knowledge that Australians like to have a good time, I figured what was the worst that could happen? Answer: I could walk into an (almost) empty venue and lose all motivation for wanting to be there. The beautiful El Rey theater had minimal stragglers roaming about and a few individuals even occupied the idea of sitting on the dance floor. In all fairness, we did show up before the first act went on, and very seldom do opening acts get the love they deserve, but still, the vast emptiness of the room set the precedent for what I thought was going to be an extremely dull evening. Queen Magic (also Melbourne based), who strikingly reminded me of Freddy Mercury (it may have just been the

Album Review: Yacht- I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler

Brent Smith October 27, 2015

It really doesn’t matter where you find your music these days. Bargain bins, the end credits of some popular show, a comment thread on Youtube. With America’s recent (though probably not lasting) damnation of record stores and the lost art of collecting, you’re lucky just to find it. I’ll be the first to admit that the first time I heard Y▲CHT was off GTA V’s soundtrack. I was speeding down Vespucci Blvd. toward the beach in my purple Bravado Gauntlet when I flipped the dial to Radio Mirror Park and was hit with the hooky gem “Psychic City (Voodoo City)”. I was instantly reminded me of a Kim Wilde “Kids in America” declaration that had taken on some deeper, incorporeal aspect. You’ve definitely had your ear to the tracks if you’ve been following YACHT’s eleven year career, which spans six studio albums on four different labels. The new LP I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler (Released on October 16th through Downtown Records) is YACHT’s third as duo, comprised of founding member/laptop virtuoso Jona Bechtolt and vocalist/science journalist Claire L. Evans. It’s an album that echoes our collective, disappointed sentiments about the year 2015 (just in time for Back to

Disclosure at The Sports Arena: Seizures, Car Crashes and Beer Stashes

Taylor Wong October 3, 2015

It was about two years ago to the day that Disclosure did two back to back, sold out shows at The Fonda in Hollywood. A couple nights ago, Disclosure kicked off their European and American tour here in Los Angeles at the LA Sports Arena. Not only was it their first show of the tour but it was also the first ever stadium concert. I was lucky enough to be invited over to shoot archival photos for the Coliseum and Sports Arena, once again. The call came in about an hour before the doors opened. I was over near LAX while my camera was all the way over in Hollywood and rush hour had just started. I raced home to grab my camera, well aware I would never make it for opening act Lion Babe. I made it to my apartment just in time, even after watching a car hurling down the street, crashing right into a storefront. I ran into my apartment, got my camera gear in order and step out the door locking the door behind me. Oh, what’s this? My car keys are now locked inside my apartment? At this point I have come to terms with