Scene Report: Live in the Depths 96

LIVE IN THE DEPTHS 96: Official Website

Venue: Mississippi Pizza & Atlantis Lounge – Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR

EDITOR’S NOTE: Right after I arrived at Live in the Depths, some personal conditions of diminished cognitive and emotional bandwidth took hold – a state that inevitably constrains both perception and its subsequent articulation, so this account reflects an oddly subdued mode of observation than is typical; the deviation in tone and scope should be understood not as a lack of engagement with the event itself.

Live in the Depths has established itself as a consistent and intentional space for experimental electronic performances. There’s a ritualistic quality to it, not in the sense of spectacle, but in the way the structure holds. Artists return, new voices enter, and the environment remains open enough to accommodate both. It operates as a point of convergence for a wide range of practices – dark IDM, noise, ambient, breakbeat manipulation – each set contributing to a larger, ongoing conversation built through sound.

At the center of that structure is Dhug, whose role goes well beyond simple organizer. What stands out immediately is his presence in any room. He’s a genuine person. There’s a consistency to how he engages with the community, in that he creates a sense of continuity across each event. That kind of approach has a measurable impact. It lowers barriers, encourages participation, and reinforces the idea that this space belongs to everyone present. The result is a community that sustains itself not through hierarchy, but through shared investment. Dhug’s contribution to the community is huge – maintaining the conditions that allow the space to function as it does. Live in the Depths persists with a kind of stubborn continuity that outlasts the periodic intrusion of bad actors – those figures who mistake proximity to a scene for ownership of it. The structure of the gathering does everything it can to resist that erosion. It’s built on repetition, trust accumulated over time and with a shared understanding that the space belongs to the collective rather than to any one personality or group of bad actors attempting to dominate it.

In short: Live in the Depths is such a fun time, even if I’m not in the best headspace to enjoy it to it’s fullest potential.

Also, Dhug is selling shirts! Click the button below to get your shirt

In lieu of being in a bad headspace, I wanted to let people know that everyone was there on Thursday. “Oh James, you don’t mean everyone, do you?” Did I stutter?

Can we talk about my X Wife for a minute. No seriously, X Wife (tonight’s DJ) was on point. My own lapse into a less stable headspace cannot be attributed to that performance; if anything, the consistency of X Wife’s approach provided a solid counterweight. I also know for a fact that they make some of the solar system’s best cookies – bar none. You can listen to the whole set on S.P.A.Z. Radio.

The first set was Musique Mystique (aka Tati!) and this one was pretty experimental with a vocal approach that favored a kind of mystical falsetto, drifting and then snapping into focus over a bed of tightly coiled, waspish rhythm. The absence of some of the more theatrical signifiers – fewer wigs and a slightly pared-down visual language – did little to diminish the intended effect, placing greater emphasis on her eccentric signatures that make the project unmistakably her own. Good stuff.

Because EVERYONE is here, I need to give a rundown on a few updates, if only to maintain some semblance of archival order in a scene that thrives on constant motion. Maximum Strength has taken on bass duties for the band Creaturess, who are scheduled to appear at Cascadian Midsummer (6.19 to 6.21). In the same breath, they introduced me to the existence of a music genre labeled “True Crime Noise,” a term that arrives fully formed and conceptually self-explanatory in a way that almost resists further analysis. The classification suggests exactly what one would assume, and that alone raises enough questions about intent, framing, and aesthetic necessity to warrant a firm editorial stance: it will not be cataloged within the Micro Genre Music taxonomy. Some thresholds remain intact, even here. SLTHR (Micro Genre Music contributor) is set to release not one, but TWO albums by the end of the year, so we look forward to those releases as well.

QueMal is up next and HOT DAMN is this a good set. I saw QueMal conferring with the ever present Wet Mango before their set and they seemed locked the fuck in. Word ’round the campfire is that this is QueMal’s first live music set and honestly, I couldn’t believe how smooth this shit was. Absolutely the kind of music I want to hear when I come to Live in the Depths. It’s a set that demonstrated a high degree of structural coherence and intentionality aka good shit. Can’t wait for their next set.

As Occurian put it succinctly. “Before tonight, I didn’t know who QueMal was, but NOW I know.”

Next up was Military Bass and honestly, the first thing I thought of was, “This sounds like artillery rounds.” Industrial battles are happening at Live in the Depths! Separate from the music itself, this is where things tipped for me. The intensity stacked up to the point where I hit full-on overstimulation and just couldn’t ride it out anymore, so I had to get out of there. No fault on the set—it did exactly what it was supposed to do. My brain just tapped out. I had to skidaddle.

Through the sustained and methodical efforts of Ramon (Production Unit Xero) and Bex, comprehensive video documentation of each performance has been secured (as it always has), ensuring that the full sequence of sets (including V1DEOBOY) remains accessible as part of an ongoing archival record for alllll tiiiiime.

I had a chance to listen back to V1DEOBOY‘s set on SPAZ and honestly the visual aspect pretty damn essential to the music itself so anything I say won’t do the set any justice. I’ve seen V1DEOBOY before and I can tell you it’s a unique experience. Check out some of the set below:

See you next month. Don’t forget to buy your LITD t-shirt.

You can listen to LITD sets on S.P.A.Z. Radio here: https://spaz.org/