Latest Posts

Tonight: Audien

October 17, 2014

Get down with Audien this evening. The world-reknown electrohouse DJ will be taking over Lift Nightclub, Buffalo’s latest down-town party destination, and revving up the crowd with action-packed chord progressions, thundering buildups, and intoxicating drops. The young 22 year old producer has been on tour for most of the past two years, stopping in the major meccas of the world. Whether he’s playing in Miami Beach, Las Vegas, or New Delhi, he always brings his contagious energy, sweeping the crowd off their feet with his vibrant showmanship. So no, don’t miss this, and yes, chug down a redbull beforehand. Tickets are $25, Jessie Aaron will be playing for support, and the evening will take off at 10pm.

Tonight: TOKiMONSTA

October 6, 2014

TOKiMONSTA will be returning to Buffalo tonight to shower an ecstatic crowd with eclectic sample constructions that translate into dreamy beat-scapes. A conjurer of  syncopated enchantment, her samples are results of devout vinyl rummaging and by combining these clips with choppy rhythms and melodic synth backdrops. Over the years, the Brainfeeder member has become known for producing spacey down-tempo tracks with a soulful, old school flair. What you hear tonight will be no exception. In fact, she’ll be delivering tracks from her latest album, Desidirium, which was only released two weeks ago and aside from her newfound leanings towards elements of trap music, let’s just her bass game has never been so on point. Silky moog phatty notes and low-end dance stabs color her tracks with depth and a new dimension of danceability. Furthermore, various r&b vocalists are featured, transforming some of her hip-hop instrumentals into full fledged songs.  Calling all[...]

Thom Yorke – Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes

October 3, 2014

Over the years, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has garnered attention as a sort of outspoken purveyor of electronic music. Upon being asked what he would pick if he had to choose between using a guitar or the medium of electronic production for the rest of his life, he infamously responded with the latter. Eight year after his first solo album debut, The Eraser, Yorke has finally released another, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, for all to access and purchase via Bit Torrent (a sort of statement on digital music circulation in itself) late last week. The 8 track album, teeming with choppy and subdued production and foreign yet string-like synthesizer arrangements, ambiguously fuses human expression with the paradigm of technology. It’s Yorke in his most experimental leanings, the score to the anatomy of a loading motherboard. As a digital manifestation, these shadowy, slightly paranormal instrumentals prove to be the ideal backdrop to[...]

Tonight: André Obin

September 24, 2014

Massachusetts based electronic musician, André Obin, will be playing Buffalo Iron Works this evening. Hailing from Cambridge and stopping in Buffalo as part of a tour which includes San Francisco, Brooklyn, and Boston, Obin‘s musical weapon of choice is the synthesizer. And he’s not your ordinary synth-smith. The melodies he creates paired with the sounds he chooses give way to dense, evolving, and lustrous song-scapes. It’s exceedingly catchy synth pop on the distant end of the spectrum: bright chord progressions shrouded in a metallic glaze like some sort of contemporary artifact from the 80s. Obin’s brand of synth pop calls to mind the decade when the genre sounded ostensibly more sinister and the lyrical delivery, more confessionary. Furthermore, his live career has brought him to play alongside synth pop heavy weights like Matthew Dear, Washed Out, and M83. Consider him an up and coming counterpart, tonight at Buffalo Iron Works[...]

Tonight: Pinback

September 16, 2014

Who ever said Tuesday night is usually uneventful happens to be absolutely wrong when it comes to this Tuesday night. To be fair, I should say, they happen to be wrong if your idea of a good time includes treating yourself to a quality show. And they’re extra wrong if you want to witness a performance from seasoned indie veterans. If you haven’t heard, tonight affords an opportunity to fulfill all of the above. Iconic indie-rock group, Pinback will be hitting the stage at Buffalo Iron Works where they’ll be gracing all those in attendance with a live rendition of their 2004 home-recorded album, Summer in Abaddon, in it’s entirety. The album is a collage of breezy and catchy melodies saturated with a shadowy ambiance; a full display of the exquisitely raw resonance that launched the duo into the ranks of lo-fi sensations. Even if you are only a casual listener,[...]

Passion in Constellation Releases Latest Single, “Smash”

August 19, 2014

Passion in Constellation has recently released a staggeringly catchy single. Packed with monumental transitions, euphoric synth hooks, and moments of serene grace, “Smash” is a full exhibition of the burgeoning dance producer’s strengths. Furthermore it’s his most experimentally playful release up to date. The single opens with a gritty and sultry bass line before the primary hook takes over. Here, synth stabs are accompanied with deft high-hat work, mallet samples, and anonymous female vocal coos. “Rainforest part-ayyy” is what she appears to be announcing and the fun is only beginning. The track craftily conjures an atmosphere of the jungle-book meets the disco, veering in and out of various adaptations of it’s infectious hook and don’t you worry, PIC makes sure to scatter surprises throughout. A sudden shift at 1:48 puts the bass-synth combo on full display via sparse kicks and shuffled high hats. Towards the end, a lush key melody[...]

Charles Bordeaux Releases Latest Track, “Hungry Hands”

August 14, 2014

The rather anonymous and low key Buffalo producer/singer-songwriter Charles Bordeaux has recently released a new track on his bandcamp. Featuring jazzy keys, some basic beatboxing, and lovely backing vocal harmonies, “Hungry Hands” is a smooth down-tempo number which puts Bordeaux’s velvety style of singing on full display. As it evolves, it crosses into new-wave territory, introducing crisp high hats and bouncy square synths. Never superfluous, the track retains a steady sense of warmth and ripeness throughout, making it the artists most mature release up to date. Check it out.

Cleanse光777 – 6怪談

August 4, 2014

A Buffalo producer that goes by the moniker Cleanse光777 has released an EP packed with darkly manipulated vocal samples, delay effects, and droning melodies. Sonically, the tracks are reminiscent of releases put out by Triangle Records, a label noted for a coherent repertoire of artists who channel a distinct sound. Some have dubbed this sound as “witch-house,” a genre which combines elements of old-school hip hop and trap, slowing it down to slug BPM, topping it with exquisitely amplified reverb. Think of a hypothetical scene from a David Lynch movie in which some mysterious and grotesque creature is slowly rising from a swamp. The track titled “blueけち火,” could serve as the soundtrack to this imagery. In fact, most of the release could accompany this ambiguous story-line, following the shot as it shows creature X  continuing on to trudge through the surrounding town, eerie and desolate in itself, peeking into a[...]

Tonight: Hallowed Bells

July 30, 2014

Tonight at the Electric Avenue, Hallowed Bells will be gracing the crowd with lush, twinkling, synthesizer melodies, organ raptures, and steady rhythms. The two-piece Philadelphia outfit creates the kind of otherworldly music that calls to mind the sky, sentient beings from another planet, pastoral epiphanies among other things.  According to their website, much of the music was recorded this January and February, combining “dense chromatic harmonies and intricate arrangements with moments of luminous simplicity and lyrical melodies.” They will be fittingly accompanied with notable Buffalo musicians in the city’s electronic scene:  Sparklebomb, Kristachuwan, and Eppo. The first of whom arranges moon-landing chord progressions with elegiac rhythms along with static-y radio and tape recordings, while Kristachuwan accompanies live sax with thumping, kaleidoscopic dream scapes. Last but not least, Eppo manipulates eastern samples, matching them with pronounced, swinging beats, producing hazy yet melodic tracks with a hip-hop flair. The ethereal electronic affair begins[...]

Murder Mystery Barbeque

June 17, 2014

Head down to 100 Plymouth Avenue this afternoon for a full evening of unbridled jollification. You heard right- the itinerary includes grilling, a murder mystery to partake in, and finally, live performances by Chicago acts, Headless Horse Head and Columbia Fasciata alongside Buffalo’s own Kristachuwan. On their bandcamp, Headless Horse Head describes themselves as a “continued assault of psychedelic ear candy swirling in a vortex of car accident debris, a mega basement of grinding blues using teeth filling to plug your ears, the 5th attempt at ripping your face off”. Meanwhile, Columbia Fasciata creates eerie, pop-tinged, lo-fi tunes that conjure themes of innocence along with the loss of it. Meats, murder, goth-pop, and interstellar electronic (from both ends of the spectrum). The fun starts at 6 and a donation of 3-5 dollars is strongly urged. See ya there.

Tonight: Jack Topht and JeffRepeater

May 2, 2014

Sometimes at the end of the day, when all is said and done, nothing makes more sense than to grovel down a slice of pizza with a bottle of beer. If you agree with this sentiment, consider tonight a little holiday. Two of Buffalo’s prime musical entertainers, Jack Topht and JeffRepeater, will be performing at the joint tailored to this golden pairing, Crust Pizzeria on Allen Street.  Repeater has been showering crowds with the city’s finest electronic music for some time while Jack Topht has established himself as Allentown’s veteran rap-star, coining prophetic mantras that have spread far and wide (“Doin’ Beers”). Beats, pizza, beer, and rhymes. Napkin dispenser nearby. Doin’ toppings and fluorescent lights. But seriously, you can bet the formula is bound to transform Crust Pizzeria into the Headquarters of Vibe. So head down this evening, choose your own toppings, and soak in some music conjured by two[...]

Passion in Constellation Releases Music Video for “Weird Tonight”

April 7, 2014

Simply put, Passion in Constellation will expand your connotation of the word “weird,” which according to Chris Alan (the artist behind PIC), is a state of mind that should be fully embraced to it’s second exponent. Let’s get weird squared is more like it and this video release can be viewed as a solid introduction the concept. In a world governed by a policy of weird squared, judgment is out of question. Still, any semblance of proper etiquette could potentially be scoffed at. You’re encouraged to fling around all the food in your pantry like confetti and if you don’t know by now, balloon animals are awesome and trending. Your living room has disappeared and in it’s place is outer-space. Also, though you’ve probably gone as far to romanticize the idea of traveling via horseback once or twice in your recent adult life, you haven’t even touched on the idea of[...]