The Do LaB’s Lightning In a Bottle dance-music fest starts Friday in Irvine (see story on headliner Booka Shade here), and it promises enough electrifying events to recharge a midsize hybrid. From the several-dozen-strong lineup, here are some mostly local acts you wouldn’t want to miss.
DADDY KEV
This is the year LA’s groundbreaking electronica club Low End Theory finally broke nationally, thanks to both Flying Lotus’ landmark Cosmogramma LP—and producer/promoter/visionary Daddy Kev, who helped a moment become a movement. He also completely destroys live, of course. Never outside of actual combat has a laptop taken such a pounding.
DAEDELUS
LA’s Daedelus is one of the most versatile producers active locally; he’s as comfy chopping out a happy-poppy dance set as he is delivering crushing bass-heavy beats with an intensity remarkable even among his Brainfeeder labelmates. Once he hits the mixer, there’s no telling what will happen next.
ELIOT LIPP
Onetime Angeleno Lipp was released into the world by Prefuse 73 after a self-produced demo he sent in transformed into an actual legitimate album. Since then, he has experimented with live bands, analog synths and a fastidiously prepared brand of electronic pop that balances adroitly between “fun” and “fascinating.”
NOSAJ THING
One of the connectors between the avant-beat music at Low End Theory and the avant-punk music at The Smell, and although his debut opts more for melody and texture, Nosaj Thing found early inspiration in the kind of experimental noise bands that push a single guitar pedal to the limit of human comprehension. His album is a quick listen to the possible future of LA music.
GLITCH MOB
Ooah, Boreta and edIT are well-known presences in local electronica, but their debut as the Glitch Mob, Drink the Sea, deploys beats that are cosmic, creepy and climactic all at once. From a May 25 Heard Mentality blog post by Chris Ziegler.
THE RETURN OF THE ICE CREAM MAN
Long Beach resident Ice Cream Man Matt Allen is officially back online in the web series Road Trippin’ With Ice Cream Man on Babelgum. New episodes will start airing on Monday. Watch for the Ice Cream Man at the following summer music festivals: Sasquatch, Wakarusa, Bonnaroo, Pool Parties, Forecastle Festival, Pitchfork, Hardfest, Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and ATP. From a May 24 post.
THE NEW LIMB NEWS
The OC Music Awards proclaimed them the Best Indie Band of 2010. Last month, they released their debut album, Sounds People Can Hear. Now, etnies, the Lake Forest-based skate-shoe company turned action-sports giant, has added The New Limb to its roster of sponsored artists, which includes DJ duo Flosstradamus, TheDeftones and TheVandals. We’re not sure yet whether the New Limb’s music is ideal for barreling down a half-pipe, but catch them playing at a summer Active/etnies event at the Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach on June 10 anyway. From a May 20 post by Nate Jackson.
This column appeared in print as “Catch Lightning In a Bottle.”
