EDITION #20

Two buses, Two shows

The Central Techno Authority really came through this past Friday as perpetually late but perfectly on time for not one, but two rounds of seriously heady electronic music. First off, I just want to say that I had been excited for this Oneohtrix Point Never show at Constellation for-ever. I heard from a murky internet source that the show was to be opened by Chicago’s Brett Naucke. However, it later surfaced that Naucke was premiering a quadrophonic composition at Experimental Sound Studio. For this iteration of ESS’s Oscillations Series, Naucke was going cultural with a piece based on Richard Serra’s sculpture Reading Cones. Obviously, I had to go to both.

I headed off on the long journey north to ESS on first the 74 east and then the 50 northbound to wherever Edgewater is. Despite the two buses, I arrived right on time to get a seat for Naucke’s set. I closed my eyes and felt like my brain was unraveling, in a pleasant way. Naucke’s 30 minute set was distinctly metallic, and gave off the aural vibe of the sculpture, which itself appears to be some sort of Staregate-like vortex propelling industrial wavelengths into the atmosphere. The sounds were given life and movement through the quadrophonic experience, which immersed the audience who were also fully zoned. The piece culminated with a twinkly modulation that echoed into silence and eased the audience back to reality. My reality was that I needed to get to Oneohtrix Point Never stat!

I unfortunately had to skip out on Alex Barnett & Ken Camden as I boarded the 50 southbound to the 77 back west to Constellation. To be honest, I was a little panicked– I had spaced out and forgot to buy tickets. The show had sold out, but reality wasn’t going to get in the way of my destiny. After another endless bus ride, I arrived at the venue ready to scheme my way inside. Shout out to the slackers who bought tickets and didn’t show up cause I got into the shit no problem. Sat down three rows back, right in front of point never’s Daniel Lopatin right as he began to play.

Lopatin’s sound has noticeably evolved with his most recent release on Warp Records and I was really curious to see how his new sound would translate live. Oneohtrix Point Never was initially known for the mellow post-apocalyptic feel he achieved by looping his Juno 60 and pitched down samples. His set reflected this change. Instead of his trusty Juno 60 dominating his rig, Lopatin’s faced glowed angelically under the ambient light of his Mac laptop. Although the method has changed, the vibe remains the same. The audience was treated to a series of electronic compositions incorporating many of his new techniques including melodious chopped up vocal samples and pulsing synthesizers and a surprising amount of bass and percussion. The pulsating live visuals played off the hyper modern digital Wabi-sabi design of his most recent album covers. The pairing of music and visuals created a polysensorial glimpse into our inevitable cold futures wandering aimlessly in small pods across space time into nothingness. As the set came to close, I felt uplifted. That night the impossible became possible.

On the CTA, time is not linear. Manifest your own reality.

Brandon Warren Alvendia (Chicago, IL) 36 y.o. male Filipino-American is a suspect in the petty theft of 2.5 sentences of a press release text from an undisclosed New York City Art Gallery. The perpetrator attempted to invoke Fair Use Doctrine and thus waived the use of the cryptomnesia defense. The victims will remain unidentified to protect the privacy of their families. Alvendia is expected to plead guilty and accept his sentence of a lifetime of community service.