As the dizzying blur that was my weekend comes to an end, and my ears, driven to their limits, begin to hear the normal range of frequencies, I begin to ponder what exactly happened. So I will use this forum to jog my memory.
It all began Friday, June 13 at Bender’s Tavern in Denver, CO. It was here that my magical electronic weekend began, at the Transistor Electronic Sound Art Festival, presented by Symbolic Insight. This first of two evenings consisted of some really great acts, the beginning of which was Bow Shock. Residents of Colorado, as the majority of the weekends’ artists were, they used a number of non-electronic instruments including a trumpet and live bass to help thicken the electronic tunes they opened with. Too bad the crowd was a bit sparse. All that would change though as the friendly, neighborhood roller derby girls (and crew) arrived, with the 8-bit slamming of Math You in the background.
When finally the time was right and the crowd had peaked, GLOAM, the Portishead-y, shoegaze/experimental band headlined the evening with a moody, sometimes even terrifying (in a good way) set. Kuxaan-sum followed keeping the moodiness intact.
The second night kept the the walls of Bender’s Tavern trembling with the 8-bit madness of Square Wail from Washington, as event creator, bios+a+ic, and New Mexican, The 47th Star, provided thoughtful ambient sets with several pieces of hard-wired electronic treasure. Some other guys played too, Glass Gentlemen (the band I’m in). They weren’t very good. Just kidding, we did aight.
One thing that really impressed me was the DJ sets. A few stood out in particular for their interesting sounds, that kept heads nodding but ears intrigued. Ron S and Relcad both provided similarly Underworld-ly sets but from opposite ends of the Underworld spectrum. Two of my personal favorites from the event. Day two brought us therottencheesekid, with his incredibly beat-driven breakcore set. Extremely cool and different from your typical DJ set. Well done sirs.
Another highlight of the event was the visual stimulation. Live painting and drawing was provided by Eric Buckner Winfield and Michael Garfield while music was played. Ronnie Cramer‘s short films provided a nice change of pace between some sets, while bahiya engaged the eye with experimental dance during bios+a+ic’s set.
If you missed this year, don’t worry. Event organizer, bios+a+tic of Symbolic Insight, plans on making this festival a mainstay of the Colorado electronic community every year. So go next year! Do it!
www.symbolicinsight.com/transistor
www.myspace.com/transistorfestival
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