ario's digital detritus

Decibel Festival is here and the line-up is fantastic. Like previous years, the schedule is jam packed, so it helps to put together one of your own. Here's mine... perhaps it'll help those of you who want to go, but aren't sure what to check out.

-- Full PDF schedule here.
-- Venue key: N = Neumos, S = Sole Repair, B = Baltic Room, F = Northwest Film Forum, V = Volunteer Park, T = Triple Door, C = Church of Bass, H = Havana's
-- "OMFG" denotes the shows I deem as "must sees"

Thursday

09:30 - Mister Leisure (S)
10:30 - Stewart Walker (S)
11:00 - Tujiko Noriko (N)
11:45 - Barbara Morgenstern (N) (OMFG)
12:30 - [a]pendics shuffle (S)
01:15 - Jahcoozi (N)

Friday

02:45 - Ableton workshop (F)
04:30 - Native Instruments workshop (F)
06:30 - offthesky (F)
07:15 - Jeff Greinke (F)
08:30 - William Basinski w/ Scott Pagano (F) (OMFG)
09:30 - Jerry Abstract (S)
10:00 - Derek Plaslaiko (S)
10:30 - Luca Bacchetti (N)
11:45 - Santiago & Bushido (N)
12:15 - Jeff Samuel (S) (OMFG)
01:15 - Deadmau5 (N)

Saturday

02:00 - dB brunch (F)
03:30 - leverage the internet to expand your audience talk (F)
04:00 - Truckasauras (V)
05:00 - Glitch Mob (V)
06:00 - Speaking in Code trailer (F)
06:30 - Vance Galloway (F)
07:00 - Kamran Sadeghi (F)
07:45 - Library Tapes (F)
08:45 - Akira Rabelais (F)
09:30 - The Sight Below (B)
10:30 - Deru (B)
11:30 - Tycho (B)
11:45 - Audion (N)
12:15 - Carl Craig (N) - this means I miss Lusine :(
01:15 - SF's Kontrol DJs (S)
02:00 - Dave Pezzner (C)
03:00 - Dixon (C) (OMFG OMFG OMFG!!!)

Sunday

02:00 - Kid Hops (db bbq) (H)
03:30 - Caro (H)
04:30 - Jeremy Ellis (H)
05:30 - Sun Tzu Sound (H)
06:30 - Helios (T) (OMFG OMFG OMFG)
07:15 - Deaf Center (T) (OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG!!!)
08:15 - Eluvium (T) (OMFG OMFG)
09:00 - Brian McBride w/ string section (T) (I don't know this guy, but I feel like I should)
10:00 - Fax (N) (OMFG)
10:15 - Flying Lotus (N) (OMFG OMFG)
11:15 - The Bug feat. Warrior Queen (OMFG OMFG OMFG)
12:15 - Supermayer (OMFG OMFG OMFG!!!)

So obviously Sunday will be one of the best days of my life. (and please let me know if I missed something)

I don't think I'll want to listen to music for the rest of the year after this.

syke! David Byrne, My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Ros, and Cut Copy are all the week after this. Time to double up on my vitamin intake.

• I'm not sure if wood makes music sound better, but damn, they do make headphones look a lot cooler...
  
  I found these while doing some headphones research... I have to find a store that carries 'em just to see what they sound like. For 800 bucks cheaper, I picked up these Shure earbuds today... will review once they come in. I wanted something to use in the bus that would block out sound really well and I've heard these are great for that.


• In other what's new with me news... work has been the main focus lately. I'm meeting with a coworker from the China office tomorrow to talk about some collaborative projects in preparation for my visit in December, so that's super exciting. I've also been listening to a lot of music as usual... recent favs:
  
  -- old Grace Jones and Sly & Robbie (I had no idea they produced some of her records!). She apparently has a new album coming out... not sure what I think of the first single... but her old stuff is the bomb.
  -- the Eno produced Bowie records... some of the instrumentals are especially amazing
  -- the new Luciano Fabric mix is killer. Special bonus points for mixing house music into M83's "In Church"... he simultaneously improved and ruined that song for me forever. The mix doesn't grab you by the throat or anything, but it has a nice vibe throughout... perfect work music.
  -- the new Quiet Sounds mix is stellar as usual
  -- not really something I'm listening to... but does anyone know who does the vocoded vocal song in the new Infiniti commercial? That song sounds awesome, but I wasn't able to find any help online
  -- lastly, I recently discovered Tujiko Noriko who's playing at Decibel this year... I've only heard one song of hers, but it's fantastic. Definitely looking forward to her set.


• Speaking of Decibel, the prelim line-up was announced recently. These are my highlights in order of holy-shit-I-can't-wait-to-see-them-ness*...
  
  * Deaf Center (NO) - ambient GODS!
  * Dixon (DE) - probably my favorite techno/house DJ... so freakin' excited to hear his set
  * Barbara Morgenstern (DE) - wow, been following her albums for a long time... can't believe they got her!
  * Drift Signal (US) - another huge surprise! Oh wait... I'm thinking of Signaldrift... is this something else?
  * Jeff Samuel (US/DE) - 2nd homecoming set... he never disappoints!
  * William Basinski (US) - I've seen him twice before, always interesting
  * The Bug featuring Warrior Queen (UK) - DUBSTEP master!
  * Eluvium (US) - more ambient goodness
  * Burnt Friedman (DE) - another guy I've always wanted to see live
  * Carl Craig (US) - duh
  * Audion (US) - saw him at DEMF, looking forward to hearing him again
  * Tujiko Noriko (JP) - see above
  * Stewart Walker (US) - missed him last time he was in SF, so this should make up for it
  * Santiago & Bushido (US) - I think Donte told me they were good
  * Fax (MX) - a Decibel vet... always puts on a good set
  * SunTzu Sound (US) - my homies! It's been too long since I've heard them throw down
  * Tycho (US) - I see him a lot at SF, but it'll be cool to see him play in Seattle
  * Derek Plaslaiko (US) - I have a few of his mixes and they're solid
  * Deru (US) - always good
  * Lusine (US) - also always good
  * Nikola Baytala (US) - more SF techno in the house
  * Sammy D (US) - I missed his set at Kontrol, so this'll be a make up
  * Truckasauras (US) - I really liked them last time I saw them play in Seattle
  
  whew! and that's just the prelim line-up! It's seriously the funnest music festival I've been to... period. The venues and crowds aren't too big, so you actually get to meet people and the artists and everything as a whole feels more intimate and special. Everyone should go this year!!

*People who know the line-up better than me... who did I leave out that you're excited to see?

Written on the turbulent flight home this morning...



Readable version here.

Great photo documentation...

-- Donte
-- Matt
-- Dave M

Add other photosets, videos, and recaps in the comments!

Here's a few recent blips and bleeps...

-- Decibel Festival kicked off with a bang last night! My highlight was probably Caro and then Diplo a close second. The biggest let down was Swtich (who produced much of the new M.I.A. album)... wasn't feeling his set at all. Saturday is the mega-day which includes Harold Budd, Robin Guthrie, Jeff Samuel, and Speedy J!

Grab the full PDF schedule here. Who should I be excited about tonight? I hope Kill Memory Crash can get the techno and industrial crowds to mingle again like they did during the first year of the festival.



-- One thing that was slightly bumming me out in this new job was not having anywhere to nap. After taking that neuroscience class at UW, I was thoroughly convinced that a daily 20 minute nap (timed 12 hours from the midpoint of regular sleep), had a huge effect on improving my mood. Without an office, it's difficult to nap comfortably, but now, we have these...

 

There are only a few so far, but they get the job done. There's a pair of headphones in there you slip on that play ambient music or white noise which help to drown out conversations around the pod too. The future is here, I'm sleeping in a pod!

-- I got my new bike two weeks back from American Cyclery, just haven't had a chance to post about it... it's sweet!



If you remember, I had quite a hard time sorting out what I wanted at first, but I ended up with a ride I'm thrilled about.

Here are the specs:

- Soma Double Cross steel frame - sure, steel is heavier than aluminum and carbon, but man does this thing feel sturdy. Came down to the Double Cross or the Surly Cross Check... but the DC uses higher quality steel and it's made by an SF-based company, so I figured it would be good to represent.
- Shimano 105 shifters/derailleur - this was on euqaz's recommendation. After test riding several bikes with different levels of components, it was obvious that the 105s felt the most solid and crispy.
- Cane creek canty brakes and tires - these were the shop's recommendation... the standard stuff they put on cyclocross style roadbikes.
- Brooks B17 saddle - these saddles look way pimp... old school leather style, but man is it hard on the tuckus. They say it takes around 100 miles to break it in (not sure if that's the seat or your ass... probably a bit of both), then they feel great. I'll be softening the leather with the recommended cream to help out with the break-in.

I also added a rack in the back and a 2nd set of cyclocross style brakes on the drop bars which are super handy when riding upright in the city. I intentionally wanted the bike to be all black with blue handle bars, it's a joy to look at! And it matches my new bag too...



Reload did a great job! I'm still getting used to adjusting the strap which has a bit of a learning curve.

I'm also getting the hang of going up hills and picking good combination of gear ratios... just needs more practice. The outer limits ride which goes around the perimeter of SF is one I really want to try out soon. And no SF cycling discussion can take place without mentioning the coveted "Wiggle"! So extremely handy.

-- I get asked a lot to compare living in Seattle to living in SF. It's only been a few months, but here's my high level assessment

SF > Seattle
-- diverse population (this is huge)
-- # of desirable events to attend per any given day (can be overwhelming)
-- great foodie culture / restaurant selection
-- Mexican food options (yes, this deserves its own line)
-- good public transportation
-- sun!
-- bustling city feel
-- more balanced male/female ratio (may just be my perception)
-- awesome clothes shopping

Seattle > SF
-- real estate market isn't anywhere near as insane
-- close to BC and Portland (this is huge)
-- easier to stay at home and not feel "I should be going out" guilt
-- less waiting in line for things
-- general sense of low-keyness
-- seeing green everywhere
-- higher chance of meeting a non-techie (this may just be a byproduct of my SF social scene though)

Seattle = SF
-- both places have friendly inhabitants (freeze factor may be less in SF though)
-- both have awesome nature nearby

Now, discuss!

-- Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie are playing together at Decibel this year.

I'll let that sentence sink in for a bit.


Seriously, I don't care where you live, you should sell some plasma, buy a plane ticket, and go to Seattle the weekend of Sept. 20-23rd.

-- In other news, Girl Talk and Daft Punk shows are this weekend... let me just say that I'm glad to have Monday off.

-- I'm officially done settling into my new place. Only thing that remains is finding a new computer desk and perhaps framing some posters to put up. The official house warming should be taking place Wednesday of next week... can't wait to show the place off.

-- I haven't had much time to explore further than a few blocks in my neighborhood. My plan is to get a road bike when I get back and use that to facilitate further exploration.

There's a group of cyclists that ride from the Mission all the way to work (~45 miles) every Friday morning. I started running again recently, so I'm hoping with a little bit of training, I can try that ride out in the near future. I've never had a fancy road bike before and the whole clipped in pedals, cyclist outfit, helmet wearing thing is quite foreign to me... but something I'm interested in getting into.

-- the re-release of Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation" is top-notch. They recently played the entire album in SF, but I missed it sadly. Kim is still one of my goddesses...



-- Can't wait to see my Seattle homies soon and get thyself to Decibel this year!!

The partial line up for Decibel Festival 2007 was announced recently.

All I have to say is hell yeah for them booking local hero JEFF SAMUEL. My fingers are crossed that he gets a prime time slot.


(thx runehog for the pic)

I've heard some other exciting rumors of who might be playing this year... should be another amazing year for the festival!

This Saturday, SF gets The Field...



Hope it's a bit more exciting than what the D experienced.

Lastly, here's a Hawtin set you can download... he played it last night... how's that for hot of the press?

me & mah homie nicole outside neumo's
more of basic_sounds awesome photos from the festival here!
update: some other great pics here.

I've acquired a backlog of things I want to post about. For the sake of re-using old material... here are two recent show reviews posted to the Division list...

my top 10 ten DB moments

This was the best music festival I've ever been to, hands down. I'm still in disbelief as the how many amazing musical moments were packed so tightly into a 4 day period. These are my personal highlights (at this groggy and beat down point in time)...

10. Short film w/ Autechre sndtrk - at Optical on Sunday, there was a hilarious short film featuring two crazy girls running around doing cute things (set to the music of Autechre). I don't remember who created this... but it was a total treat to watch. Nice to see such technical artists allow their music to be used in something so completely low tech.

09. 1 Luv - It was so great to be able to hear great dance music played by a band with vocalists. Their set provided a refreshing bit of variety to the other, highly digitized fare. Much props to SunStzu for bringing them out!

08. Randy Jones - Drums are such a great way to perform a set of a visuals... I'd never thought of them in that context before. I'd love to see more visual artists play with physical interfaces in the future.

07. Son of Rose - Kamran provided some amazing sounds and creative experimentation with sampling and loops. I have a soft spot for piano manipulations, so as soon as I saw him tinkering away inside that grand... I knew we were in for a treat.

06. Claude VonStroke (at the Mercury afterparty) - Dancing to hard techno next to the goth/industrial crowd is an experience I would love to recreate again. The only other time I remember this happening was during Kill Memory Crash and Kraftwerk. If we can make nice with the Mercury and bring more hard/dark techno events to their space, I'm all for it.

05. Apparat / Alex Smoke - Both delivered the goods and had the whole place dancing up a storm for the entirety of their sets.

04. Green Velvet - I think his performance set the record for largest number of people dancing in one room in Seattle. The energy was palpable and it was cool to see how happy (and perhaps surprised/shocked) he was that the crowd would be so receptive.

03. Dead Texan / Murcof - These two artists create some of the most intensely moving and personal music in my life. To see them perform with beautiful visuals in a packed room of people was the epitome of an "intimate show."

02. Bola / Speedy J - Wow, wow, wow. The first track Bola played was just magic... and he kept up that pace throughout his set. It was perfect timing to have some downtempo goodness on the main stage of the festival to bridge from the ambient stuff over to the hard stuff. Lots of people were in their own little world, bopping along, with eyes closed. Speedy J then took over and pounded the shit out of the crowd.

01. Thomas Fehlmann - This man's music, attitude, and energy are truly amazing. I thought it was going to be hard for him to match the excitement and punch of his performance last year, but his set on Friday surpassed even that. I know there were some complaints on the choice of venue... but I thought it was perfect. Seeing people shun the chairs in the BPH and dance in the opposite corners of the room was just another facet that added to the performance. Positivity and creative vibes just spew forth from this guy... I think anyone in attendance got another year or two tacked on to the end of their lives.

and all of these moments were provided with amazing sound, people, and stellar visuals.

Kurokawa would've been on this list, but having seen a very similar set from him at Mutek, his performance didn't hit me as hard. I was thrilled to see him get the standing ovation again though, completely deserved.

My only concern now is that if Decibel stays on this same attendance trajectory... how can the Capitol Hill venues contain DB 2007?

Hope everyone is recovering nicely and fending off the Decibel virus that plagued so many of us last year.

Like Jocham Paap said, "This is one of the best festivals!" Indeed. Thanks to everyone who made it happen... this was a major milestone for our scene.

So what were everyone else's favorite moments?

Re: Krush tonight at Neumos

I just wanted to second Alejandro's review... what an incredible
performance last night.

I think this was my 4th time to see him play and this one took the cake.

The real-time sampling, precise mixes, his appreciative attitude, and
the receptive (and dancing) crowd all came together for an amazing
evening of music. Seattle continues to impress me by breaking its own
arms-folded, chin-stroking stereotypes as of late.

There was a rumor going around that Krush was originally slated to
play for an hour... instead, we got that, plus a 45 minute encore...
and then after the crowd wouldn't stop clapping and screaming, he came
out and did 3 more songs. Definitely a lot of love for Krush in this
town and deservedly so.

This performance was like night and day for me compared to Shadow's
set last week. That one was marred by an all-over-the-map set list
that had long bouts of Shadow talking and some down right awkward
moments when the British singer dude came on stage to do his thing.

Ironically... one of the highlights of Krush's set was his totally
Krush-fied version of Shadow's "Organ Doner" which he played pitched
down and with a fury of beats over top.

The only downer for me during Krush's set was when Kiki turned to me
and said... "y'know, Krush and other guys from his generation...
they're sort of the last group of guys doing this kind of music."

While that may be true... I'm sure there will be others to take on the
cinematic, intricate, trip-hop torch after Krush is gone... but man,
they will have some terribly large shoes to fill.

some choice nuggets of Krush info from Alejandro's post:

Krush utilized two Technics, a Pioneer EFX-500, and a Fostex ESL MC2000
(that model is not 100% but it's something very close to it). His setup
enabled him to do live looping and tape delay fx. Every mix he did was
filled with dub-style echos, tape delays and serious beat re-sampling. He
would build and build to these crazy pinnacles of utter beat destruction and
then drop right back into whatever filthy beat he started with.

Krush's dub tactics are supreme! Inaddition to hardcore beat mashing, the
guy was making some ill drum&bass doubletime routines on the fly with his fx
mixers. He was working the whole time, and mesmerizing to watch because the
subtleties of his mixing came through in every beat. He kind of reminded me
of Edit's glitch style at certain points because of the way he toyed with
the beat and OWNED it.

Wow, it's here... Decibel starts tomorrow night and I can't wait!



As most of my friends know, I've been helping out with the website this year... doing project management, info architecture design, and basically keepin' the communication flowing.

Life has been so hectic lately, I haven't had a chance yet to get too excited about attending the actual festival. I predict the excitement is like a dam, welling up inside me, and will break forth after some big things are out of the way tomorrow (more on that later).

In the meantime, I know some of you aren't quite sure what to check out this year or might still be on the fence about going. Not everyone is an electronic music nut, I know... but if you're in town, I bet there's something you'll enjoy checking out. It's not too late to get a ticket or pass either, go here for all the details on that.

There's been some confusion over the tickets (there always is at big festivals), but the main thing to know is that you need the All Access Pass to get into the Broadway Performance Hall shows on Friday and Saturday evening. These are two of the best things DB has to offer, and it does come at a premium ($100 bucks), but I can tell you it will be worth it.

The Pro Pass is cheaper at $75 bucks and that'll get you into everything else, plus the Ambient Showcase on Sunday which has some amazing performers as well.

If none of that sounds appealing, you can just walk right up to the venue and try and get a ticket (mainly stuff at Neumo's, Chop Suey, Baltic Room), but there's always a danger that it might sell out... so getting the Club Pass ($50) for those of you just looking to get your dance on at the club shows, might be your best bet.

---

Over on the Decibel blog, I've got a post that highlights all the various ways to digest the schedule. Definitely check it out before you hit the venues.



Big props to Jerry and plastik360 for all their hard work on this aspect of the festival.

What follows are my own personal recommendations for what to check out. A good number of shows get missed with this battle plan, but the festival is so jam packed this year, sacrifices are inevitable.

---

Thursday

6:30 - 9 pm (Henry Art Gallery)
Opening Reception at the Henry Art Gallery
Decibel officially starts at my favorite gallery in town with some music, visuals, and discussion, courtesy of the Nortec Collective, Randy Jones, Mr. Abstract, and Jamie Drouin.  On top of that... the Henry has a new Steve Roden piece on display that you can check out at 6:15 pm. 

9 - 9:45 pm (Neumo's)
Latinsizer, Panoptica, Plankton Man, Fax, and Nortec Collective
I'm most of all looking forward to hearing Fax... but plan to catch these other guys too.

??? - ??? (Bad Juju)
Ephraim Memorial
Whenever the mood strikes and I see familiar folks heading over, I'll drop by the memorial.  It will be surreal to not have our friend with us, but I'd like to think he'll be doing his famous two-step in all of our thoughts throughout the festival.

---

Friday

6 - 10 pm (Broadway Performance Hall)
Guest, Speaker, Mr. Projectile, Deru, Thomas Fehlmann
I've heard the speakers are going to be awesome... one of Sean's old profs at Evergreen and some other interesting folks.  Performances by Projectile, Deru, and Fehlmann are all sure to please.  Fehlmann was the closing night star of last year's DB so it will be hard to top that on the first night with a dub set... but I'm sure it will be delicious all the same.

10 pm - 2 am (Neumo's)
Lusine, Telefon Tel Aviv, Apparat, Alex Smoke
Ah, what perfect timing... right after the high I'll be on from Thomas's set, a quick run over to Neumo's will reward me with some great tunes from Seattle's own Lusine.  I missed his set at Bumbershoot and haven't heard him play out in awhile, so this should be super-duper.  Telefon, Apparat, and Alex Smoke are on right after him... all amazing artitsts, dang, all this in two days!!  Ok, I'm getting even more excited now.

2 - 2:45 am (Chop Suey)
Claude VonStroke
My first collision of the festival occurs right here... stay for the entirity of Alex Smoke's set... or leave to catch some of Claude.  I think I'll do the latter since the one song and mix I know of the guy are both rad.

2:45 - ??? (venue TBA)
Shameless Afterhours
Kris Moon vs. Jerry Abstract (2x 4 set).  'Nuff said.

---

Saturday

12 - 7 pm (BPH)
Clinics, lots and lots of clinics
Ableton, Rane, Reason, and many more will represent and show off their latest warez.  Electronic nerds, be there.

1:30 - 3 pm (BPH)
Panel Discussion
An impressive panel of journalists, record label owners, radio people, and artists will get together to school us on "music discovery and distribution in the digital age."  Should be quite awesome.  My buddy Leo from Real is on there too, rep'ing for Rhapsody.com.

3:30 - 5 pm (BPH)
Robotspeak clinic w/ Lusine, Chachi Jones, & Mork Choklad
Sounds like a pretty interactive session with artists and audience participation.

6:30 - 10 pm (BPH)
Yann Novak, Son of Rose, Richard Chartier, Taylor Deupree
Remember what I said about noise that "liquifies your poop"?  Well here is the epitome of that experience, for 4 glorious hours.  This showcase is BYOD (Bring your own diaper).

10:00 - 10:30 (Bad Juju)
Robin Judge
My newfound homie since Mutek and Vancouver booty shaker unveils her new set before heading off to tour Europe in October.  Don't miss it!

10:30 - 11 pm (Baltic Room)
1 LUV
iamdonte says he's really excited for this performance... I've never heard of 'em, but I'll give it a shot.  Description... "A fusion of jazz, latin, funk, house, afrobeat, hip-hop, techno, disco, boogie, R & B and soul."

11 pm - 1:45 am (Neumos)
Jerry Abstract, [A]ppendics Shuffle, Green Velvet
If you like to dance, this is the showcase for you.  Wow, just seeing those 3 names on the same line just made me move a lil' bit.

11:30 pm - 1:45 am (Chop Suey)
Plan B, Static, Subtle
Between these hours, I may take a break and see what's going on over at Chop Suey... which is a shame... I'd love to see all of these guys any other night of the week, but they got some fierce competition over at Neumo's.

2 - 6 am
Kristina Childs, David Squillace, Jon McMillion, Andreas Tilliander
Just to be cruel, they put Andreas last at 5am... but that just means you're going to have to drink a lot of Red Bull and dance next to me.  Oh, and don't miss Jon McMillion either... that's gonna be some hot shit right there.

---

Sunday (aka, the most amazing day)

1 - 6 pm
Randy Jones, Speey J & Scott Pagano, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Micoforming II
The visual component of DB, Optical, gets underway with Randy who I hear has been cooking up some new visuals in Jitter.  Speedy J and his buddy are probably going to rock it.  BUT,

my anticipated highlight...

of the entire festival possibly...

is RYOICHI KUROKAWA

this is the guy that got a standing ovation at Mutek this year with some of the most amazing experimental music and visuals that will leave your jaw on the floor.  I'm still in disbelief that we got him for Decibel, but he's here, and he's going to blow your fucking mind.  Be there.



6 - 6:30 pm (Barca)
um, ME... Ario
I'll be doing a Serato Scratch set of some sweet jams I've been compiling for awhile. Gigs at the Barca are free for everyone, so if you want to experience DB on the cheap, Barca is your friend. I'm on till 8 pm, but don't stick around for too long, go see...

6:30 - 10 pm (BPH)
Anton Zalaparta, Mokira, The Dead Texan, Murcof
Anton (aka Raf), delivered a beautiful set at Mutek, so I highly recommend everyone check his set out over mine.  I'll try and record my set and post it here, so you won't even need to feel like you're missing anything :)

As for those next guys... Mokira, The Dead Texan, and Murcof... they make some of my favorite music of all time.  Especially Dead Texan, wow, I'm going to see them in a small auditorium with awesome sound and some of my closest friends... someone pinch me!!!

10 - 1:45 am (Bad Juju)
KFO, NDCV, Paul Edwards, Electrosect, Rudement
A lot of my homies are playing at this one... Brian, Andy, Paul, and Patrick.  I'll be bouncing between here and Neumo's all night.  Thank god they're attached, I dunno how much energy I'll have by this point in the weekend.

11 - 1:45 am (Neumo's)
Greg Skidmore, Bola, Speedy J
Man, what a way to close out the festival.  Freakin' Bola... BOLA!  I hope Speedy J plays hard as hell too... Loudboxer-stylee.

---

WHEW, ok... now I'm now ready to party, let's do 'dis.

reposting this from euqaz's LJ...

Decibel is looking for volunteers for this years festival happening September 14 - 17. Here is our call for your help and support! Feel free to hit me up directly with questions or follow the instructions below.


(not the festival's logo, but still cool lookin')

---

DECIBEL:
International Festival of Electronic Music Performance, Arts and New Media

WHO WE ARE?
Seattle, WA – The third annual Decibel Festival promises to be the biggest
edition yet, reflecting the burgeoning audience and growing interest in this
adventurous multimedia event. Decibel Festival 2006 features over 80
electronic music artists from around the world, presented in 17 individual
performance showcases spread out over four days. As part of a new visual
arts focus, Decibel will host talented visual artists throughout the
weekend, culminating in DB-Optical, a multimedia fusion of installations and
live art. Decibel 2006 will also host DB-Conference, a series of audio and
visual technology workshops, product demonstrations, clinics and panel
discussions held by leading industry professionals and educators. For more
information please visit www.decibelfestival.com

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Decibel is looking for 20 - 30 volunteers willing to work a total of 8 hours
each (4 hour increments) in exchange for a festival pass ($50 value),
t-shirts ($20 value) and all the Red Bull you can stomach :)

Positions we're looking to fill include:
- Local promotions / street team (postering / flyering)
- Will Call / ticket booth attendants
- Merchandise booth attendants
- Stage managers (basic experience with live sound needed)
- Venue set up (might involve some heavy lifting)
- Venue tear down (might require some caffeine)
- Sound engineer (needs extensive experience with live sound & recording)

Volunteers need to be punctual, trust worthy, motivated and 21+ (except for
the Broadway Performance Hall).

FESTIVAL DATES?
- September 14-17

WHERE WILL DECIBEL BE TAKING PLACE?
- Neumos : http://www.neumos.com
- Broadway Performance Hall : http://www.broadwayperfhall.com
- Chop Suey : http://www.chopsuey.com
- Baltic Room : http://www.thebalticroom.com
- Barca : http://www.barcaseattle.com
- Bad Juju Lounge : http://www.thebadjujulounge.com

INTERESTED?
If so please contact nordic.soul@gmail.com

Prepare thyselves...

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION : JUNE 21ST, 2006

3RD ANNUAL DECIBEL FESTIVAL :: SEPTEMBER 14 -17 : SEATTLE

- PRELIMINARY LINEUP ANNOUNCED! -


DB-MENU

DECIBEL 2006
• DB-FESTIVAL (2006 overview)
• DB-FESTIVAL Preliminary Lineup
• DB-OPTICAL
• DB-CONFERENCE
• Partners
• Venues
• About DECIBEL
• DECIBEL Commercial


-> 2006 DECIBEL (2006 overview)

DECIBEL:
International Festival of Electronic Music Performance, Arts and New Media

Seattle, WA – The third annual Decibel Festival promises to be the biggest
edition yet, reflecting the burgeoning audience and growing interest in this
adventurous multimedia event. Decibel Festival 2006 features over 80
electronic music artists from around the world, presented in 17 individual
performance showcases spread out over four days. As part of a new visual
arts focus, Decibel will host talented visual artists throughout the
weekend, which will culminate in DB-Optical, a multimedia fusion of
installations and live art. Also this year is the DB-Conference – a series
of audio and visual technology workshops, product demonstrations, clinics,
and panel discussions held by leading industry professionals and educators.
For more information, please visit http://www.dbfestival.com.



-> PRELIMINARY 2006 DECIBEL LINE UP

Green Velvet (Chicago) http://www.green-velvet.com
Alex Smoke (U.K.) http://www.somarecords.com/artists/alexsmoke
Dexter (Netherlands) http://www.klakson.nl
Bola (U.K.) http://www.skam.co.uk
Thomas Fehlmann: Dub Set (Germany) http://www.flowing.de
The Dead Texan (Belgium) http://brainwashed.com/sotl/deadtexan
Fax (Mexico) http://www.faxmusik.com
Telefon Tel Aviv (Chicago) http://www.telefontelaviv.com
Apparat (Germany) http://www.apparat.net
Taylor Deupree (New York) http://www.12k.com/taylor/bio.html
Funckarma (Netherlands) http://www.funckarma.com
Richard Chartier (Washington D.C.) http://www.3particles.com
Subtle (San Francisco) http://www.subtle6.com
Andreas Tilliander (Sweden) http://www.repeatle.com
Jeremy Ellis (Detroit) http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/jeremy_ellis.html
Mokira (Sweden) http://www.repeatle.com
Claude Vonstroke (San Francisco) http://www.dirtybirdrecords.com
Panoptica (Mexico) http://www.noarte.com
Kate Simko (Chicago) http://www.katesimko.com
Jacob London (Seattle) http://www.jacoblondon.com
Brett Johnson (U.S.) http://www.robot-karate.com
Latinsizer (Mexico) http://www.milrecords.com
Tim Xavier (New York) http://www.timxavier.com
Soultek (Chicago) http://www.force-tracks.net
Plankton Man (Los Angeles) http://www.planktonman.com
Lusine (Seattle) http://www.lusineweb.com
Davide Squillace (Spain) http://www.sketchrecs.com
Jerry Abstract (Seattle) http://www.fixelplix.com
Son Of Rose (Seattle) http://www.sonofrose.net
DJ Camea (New York) http://www.djcamea.com
Nordic Soul (Seattle) http://www.dbfestival.com
Jon McMillion (Seattle) http://www.orac.vu
Yann Novak (Seattle) http://www.yannnovak.com
Randy Jones (Seattle) http://www.orac.vu
Sun Tzu Sound (Seattle) http://www.suntzusound.com



-> DB OPTICAL

Optical will showcase VJs, digital and physical art, film, and other
image-driven creative works. The music events throughout the weekend will
contain heavy visual counterparts culminating in a day-long multimedia
fusion at the Broadway Performance Hall on Sunday, September 17.

*OPTICAL VJ LINEUP, ARTISTS, AND MORE INFORMATION TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY




-> DB-CON (DECIBEL CONFERENCE)

This year Decibel features an entire conference centered on education, one
of the main goals of the DB Organization. DB-CON will combine audio and
visual technology workshops, product demonstrations, clinics, and panel
discussions.

The conference kicks off Friday evening with the first ever “DB 2006 Opening
Gala Event” (music performances and guest speaker TBA) and continues as a
daytime conference on Saturday the 18th. All DB-CON events will be held at
the Broadway Performance Hall, which will offer a full theater, demo room
and multiple lobbies dedicated to merchandise tables. To further encourage
musical teaching, conference tickets will be offered at half-price for
students.

CONFIRMED DB-CON CLINICS :
Ableton Live : Mackie : Native Instruments : Robotspeak Sessions : Analog
Synthesis



-> PARTNERS

City of Seattle : Easy Street Records : Nonsequitur : Plexipixel : RANE:
Remix Magazine : Robotspeak : Sonic Bids : The Stranger : XLR8R



-> DECIBEL VENUES

Neumos : http://www.neumos.com
Broadway Performance Hall : http://www.broadwayperfhall.com
Chop Suey : http://www.chopsuey.com
Baltic Room : http://www.thebalticroom.com
Barca : http://www.barcaseattle.com
Bad Juju Lounge : http://www.thebadjujulounge.com



-> ABOUT

Founded in 2003, Decibel Festival bridges the gap between technology and
creativity through visual art, workshops, panel discussions and cutting-edge
electronic music performances. By gathering a diverse selection of
international talent, Decibel Festival provides a forum for musicians,
industry professionals and educators alike.

Details will continue to be added to http://www.decibelfestival.com/2006 as
they are confirmed.



-> DECIBEL COMMERCIAL

http://www.decibelfestival.com/2006/COMM/

I'm not big on day recap posts, but today's was quite nice so I thought I'd document...

-- wrote Franz of Signaldrift an email asking if he'd be interested in playing this year's Decibel Festival.
Other people I'd like get in touch with: Nathan Fake, Richard Davis, Sascha Funke, Booka Shade, and Paul Kalkbrenner
-- took my parents to the airport before work after enjoying a nice half-week of their presence here and in Vancouver



-- got to work just in time for a 10:30 meeting
-- had an ass kicking work out from 11:30 - 1 pm
-- ate a tasty baked potato
-- had some more productive meetings
-- got an awesome 30 minute massage
-- caught up with homie Z and played some galaga
-- went to the Ableton Clinic and learned some neat tricks. I should be dangerous enough to get started on a remix idea I have soon.



-- enjoyed a delicious dinner with Piccolo and Scientific at Hillside Quickies (the one on 15th). I've come to realize that vegan food is very tasty, especially if it's unhealthy stuff like burgers and fries.
-- came home and watched some interesting videos courtesy of a saucy australlian
-- listened to some great music at extremely loud volumes,




being played through this new contraption:



-- now time to read a bit from something in my current pile before bed...



hope to see everyone at the Modeselektor show tomorrow! g'night.

download flavors:

one giant 128-bit mp3: ario_-_decibel_mix_9-22-05.mp3

zip file containing individual 192-bit mp3s: ario_-_decibel_mix_9-22-05.zip

the festival this year was nothing short of amazing.  i'm sitting on a big backlog of photos to edit and upload, i'll have more to say as the pics go up. In the meantime, read these recaps by Segal and Moon.

I played a longer version of the set you see above at Barca... this version is edited down to fit onto one audio cd.  If anyone knows the artist name and song title for tracks 5 and 24, let me know.  #5 is taken from the fake Boards of Canada album that's been floating around the internets... but it's still good whoever did it.

This mix incorporates a bit of spoken word and some audio snippets from random files I had laying around on my harddrive... it'll probably be the last mix I'll do for awhile, so enjoy.

I got sick for the first time in months on Sunday as I was having my mind blown by Mr. Thomas Fehlmann.  I think he infected me with some kind of uber-German techno virus which causes high fever and body ache.

So much amazing music packed into one week, it'll take awhile for it all to sink in.

I don't know where to begin to describe the incredible music I've experienced this past weekend. I've taken a bunch of photos and there'll be some reviewage at a later date.

What's more pressing is the avalanche of amazing music that starts tomorrow with Mono and goes all the way through Sunday, ending with Isolee.

---

Mono

If you haven't gotten your ticket to this show yet and were on the fence, I highly recommended procurring one online as I'm sure this show will sell out. Their following seems to get bigger and bigger over time, not to mention that they got a write up in this week's Stranger.

Seriously, if you like Mogwai, noise rock, ambient music, My Bloody Valentine, the country of Japan, or any combination of the above, I implore you to catch this show. But please, if you do go, shut your trap during the quiet parts or you're likely to get ninja'd.

---

LJT Bukem

Then on Wednesday, we have my favorite drum n' bass producer and DJ of all times, LTJ Bukem at Chop Suey. As the heavy, nastier side of dn'b seems to have taken the spotlight in the scene over the years, LTJ has been keeping it real on the more chill side of things. Heck, even one of the writers from the geeky Passionate Users Blog will be in attendance.

---

Decibel Festival



This week's big event of course is the long anticipated second annual Decibel Festival, showcasing the best (and perhaps obscurest) gems that techno, ambient, and IDM have to offer. While the festival has received a bit of flack for its focus on the geekier side of electronic music, what it does focus on, it focuses on superbly well.

The absence of Massmvmt artists, Codebase, and Mr. Samuel are a bit of a shame, but even so, there is no shortage of talent this year to choose from.

If I had to recommend one "must-hit" DB showcase, it would have to be the Kranky vs Ghostly one on Sunday, featuring the amazingness of Pan American, Aeroc, Loscil, and Lusine. The Experimental Showcase with Hakea, Hecker, Fennesz, Son of Rose will also rock the house (albeit gently).

Also of note... I was lucky enough to snag a spot DJ'ing during the festival as part of the Decibel DJ Lounge this coming Thursday. I'll be on from 6:30 to 8 pm and it's free, so swing by and I'll try and get this thing started off right! I've got a lot of great music to sift through for my set and I'm psyched to be able to contribute this year.



What follows is my personal schedule during the festival... mostly for my own sanity, but also for anyone that may be looking for some recommendations. You'll notice Friday is missing all but one DB act, but that's only because of some unfortunate overlap with the NIN and Disco D shows in town which I can't miss. So without further adieu...

Thursday

06:30 - 08:00 PM - Ario - Barca
08:00 - 08:30 PM - (dinner)
08:30 - 09:00 PM - DJ Merck - Chop Suey
09:00 - 10:15 PM - Deceptikon - Chop Suey
10:15 - 11:00 PM - Deru - Chop Suey
11:00 - 11:30 PM - Porceline - Bad Juju
11:30 - 12:15 AM - Machine Drum - Chop Suey
12:15 - 01:14 AM - Proem - Chop Suey

Friday

08:00 - 12:00 AM - NIN - KeyArena
12:15 - 01:00 AM - Apparat - Chop Suey
01:00 - 03:00 AM - Disco D - Element

Saturday

12:00 - 01:30 PM - digital distribution of music - BPH*
01:30 - 02:00 PM - (lunch)
02:00 - 02:45 PM - Abelton Live: Beatmaking - BPH
03:00 - 03:45 PM - circuit bending clinic - BPH
04:00 - 05:15 PM - 5.1 Clinic and performance - BPH
05:15 - 06:30 PM - (break)
06:30 - 07:00 PM - Son of Rose - BPH
07:15 - 08:00 PM - Hakea - BPH
08:00 - 08:45 PM - Tim Hecker - BPH
09:00 - 10:00 PM - Fennesz - BPH
10:00 - 10:15 PM - Mori - Chop Suey
10:15 - 11:00 PM - Kinoko - Bad Juju
11:00 - 12:00 AM - Deadbeat - Nuemo's
12:00 - 12:15 AM - Camea - Barca
12:15 - 12:45 AM - Styrofoam - Chop Suey
12:45 - 01:45 AM - Akufen - Nuemo's

Sunday

12:00 - 01:30 PM - Relationship btw technology & art - BPH
01:30 - 02:00 PM - (lunch)
02:00 - 02:45 PM - Mastering for vinyl - BPH
03:00 - 03:45 PM - Abelton: Adv techniques - BPH
04:00 - 04:45 PM - NI: Traktor - BPH
04:45 - 06:30 PM - (break)
06:30 - 07:00 PM - Loscil - BPH
07:15 - 08:00 PM - Lusine - BPH
08:15 - 08:45 PM - Aeroc - BPH
09:00 - 10:00 PM - Pan American - BPH
10:15 - 11:30 PM - Tipper - Nuemo's
11:30 - 12:30 PM - Thomas Fehlmann - Nuemo's
12:30 - 01:45 AM - Isolee - Nuemo's

*BPH = Broadway Performance Hall

full schedule here (pdf). my review of last year's Decibel Fest here.

For those Decibel attendees out there who use text messaging, I highly recommend taking advantage of Dodgeball during the event to sync up on schedule changes, food coordination, etc.

I'm super psyched and I can't wait to hang out with some of y'all for what should be a truly memorable week!