Preview: Sepalcure, Shigeto, Simple, Santa

This Friday, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts (GAFFTA), XLR8R, Two Circles and Cunei Media are throwing a promising party with artists, producers and musicians who bring innovative contributions to digital art and electronic music culture. Come support local talent and acclaimed New York bass masters at GAFFTA for an extraordinary night of art and aural delight from the Compound sound system!

Sepalcure

Travis Stewart and Praveen Sharma recently paired up to become Sepalcure The duo has explored a variety of sounds separately, ranging from IDM to folktronica, but together have created deep, smooth and melodic tracks offering a pleasurable alternative to those who find the current dubstep scene too aggressive. With two EPs released so far on Hotflush Recordings, Sepalcure has already made a name for themselves with their blend of UK funky and dubstep meets 90s NY house, which has come to be known by the cute, but appropriate, term “lovestep.”

Shigeto

Raised in Michigan, Zach Saginaw was immersed in jazz and Motown at an early age when he started playing drums. He now lives in NY, after relocating there to study music, and releases his productions on Ghostly International and Mood Gadget Records as Shigeto. Taking elements from hip hop, dubstep, IDM and jazz, Shigeto voices various moods through soundscapes that are both introspective and heavy on the dance floor.

01 Ann Arbor Part 1.mp3 by SHIGETO

Simple

Konstantin Papatheodoropoulus, who goes by Simple, uses rhythm combinations and soulful synth melodies reminiscent of his hometown Detroit. Currently residing in San Francisco, the Bay Area is lucky to have him here to add refreshing sounds to the local beat scene. He heads the art collective and record label Two Circles, which focuses on encouraging out-of-the-ordinary creations. International record labels based in Germany (Produkt Schallplatten and Ilian Tape) and the UK (Sub Depth) have recognized Simple’s talent and are working with him for releases in the near future.

barely together by simple

Santa

Santa is an electroacoustic ensemble led by Cullen Miller. Wind instrumentalists bring Miller’s compositions to life, featuring trumpet, tenor, alto saxophone, alto flute along with upright bass and a full drum kit. Miller started his musical training on the double bass and studied classical jazz theory, but has expanded his sonic palette over the years through the use of electronic instrumentation. Experimenting with different styles in visual art and music, Miller’s Cunei Media strives to make an impact on digital culture.

Aethyr Or by Cullen Miller

Friday, April 29th at GAFFTA. Presale tickets available for $15.

Photo credit: www.xlr8r.com

Comments

  1. Circuit Bender April 27, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    “fyi” This seems like it’s going to be great. I wanna go!

  2. Hey, sorry, just going by what I read in this interview:

    http://www.littlewhiteearbuds.com/podcast/lwe-podcast-61-sepalcure/

    “Yeah, this is gonna sound a little creepy. You know, if you google “lovestep,” you guys are the first thing that comes up.

    TS: Naturally.

    As someone who listens to a lot of this stuff, I think it’s kind of a fantastic tag. Like it’s kind of silly.

    TS: It’s kind of funny. We were both noticing this whole shift in the dubstep scene, taking the whole “brostep” sound and just, like, melt-your-face bass lines and intense testosterone-driven music to a more relaxed, more soulful, more melodic kind of form, with the influence of diva vocals and everything like that…”

  3. FYI “Lovestep” or “Luvstep” was created by Dirty South Joe and Flufftronix of Mad Decent. It has nothing to do with UK Funky or 90s house. It is purely dubstep. Read up: http://www.luvstep.com.

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