Scene Report: Live in the Depths 87

LIVE IN THE DEPTHS 87: Official Website

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

Whatever craziness is happening at these shows, it’s never just the music or the visuals or the sweat-slicked strangers gyrating in time with ghosts – it’s your perception that twists it, shapes it, makes it either salvation or sensory overload. And for me, lately, that perception is filtered through a lens of growth and healing – but not the smooth and flowery kind. This is the ugly kind of healing. Muscle-tearing, soul-scraping … the kind that comes with a mirror and a voice in your head screaming truths you’ve avoided for years. Little deaths. Dozens of them. And that’s why I love Live in the Depths. Because in this cathedral of chaos, you’re not alone in your decay. You find a kind of community in the wreckage. A tribe of people quietly burying versions of themselves and helping others plant something new in the dark.

The DJ tonight was Chepito and I gotta say, after last month’s sonic meat grinder (wasn’t bad, just wasn’t my cup of tea), this was a breath of fresh air. Sharp and clever transitions – good pacing, no dead space. Really fun interludes between the sets, too.

I love arriving early because of the little victories and pleasures. Half-warm pizza slices with cardboard crusts. Alcoholic fruit slushies that taste like melted batteries and regret about five seconds after the last sip. And the stories – that’s the real fuel. I had a chance to catch up SPINES before the show started and after chatting for a bit I then went into journalist mode and asked SPINES (on the record) when the next album was dropping. Apparently their next album is ten years in the making – so it should be a good one. Even though I might be taking that last quote out of context, I can definitively say that I cannot wait for their next album.

First up was Ellery Everet (EƎ) and to be honest, I had no firm grip on what the hell was about to leak out of those speakers, but their set was fantastic. It was a warm blanket of ambient electronic with minimal industrial undertones and ghostly pads. There were hints of machinery buried in there – some subtle industrial grind beneath it all. The mood in the room was a little dark and spacey – introspective. I can’t really explain it, but their rhythm felt more like a hallucination than a framework for music. I found a lot of comfort in their delayed vocals samples – again, very hallucinatory. I need to check out their next set. Also, shout out to them for balancing their tallboy Modelo next to their gear without spilling a precious drop – not a rare feat for Live in the Depths, but a welcome one. Some of their set is in the video below.

It’s always around this time that I get a little too carried away in talking to people when I should be listening to the music. I caught up with both MKULTRA & Kapala, because that’s what you do at the Live in the Depths – you connect with people. MKULTRA is a LITD regular and you can usually find them eating a slice or writing in a notebook – or they’re playing a set. I asked them how they were doing and we somehow ended up talking about this modification they made to a cat wheel (a walking wheel for cats, not a wheel made of cats) where when the cat runs on said wheel, it changes the color of an LED light that’s connected to it with what I’m guessing is magic. They’re playing Modular on the Spot on Sunday, June 8th under their alias See pg. 163: line#9 – you should check them out. Also, I was eager to find out how Kapala‘s Mountain Goat Slaughter Farm show went and apparently it was canceled, but they are performing in a warehouse on MLK sometime in July. How very vague and how very Portland – I can’t wait to see them perform.

Next up was Øbsrvr, and the air took a sharp left turn into something undeniably strange right before his set began. Not too crazy – just quietly disorienting, like the spiritual temperature dropped 20 degrees and the room suddenly forgot what it was doing. I’ve seen Øbsrvr play live in an ambient capacity and even as a DJ, but I don’t remember Øbsrvr’s stuff being this dark. Just an instant drop into psychic molasses, all low-end churn and unspoken menace. Well, unspoken until Øbsrvr started laying down some very strange and slightly hypnotic vocals – weird, warbled, half-incantation, half-instruction manual from another plane. I loved this set. It brought us back from the brink and the crowd began to swell like a sea of crabs shuffling side-to-side waiting for their turn to enter the crab pot. Check out a clip of their set below

After Øbsrvr’s set I began to realize just how community oriented the Portland electronic scene is right now. You can always tell when someone lacks community, but what’s even more glaring – and far stranger to behold – is when someone simply isn’t used to it. And if I’m being honest, that’s probably me. I’ve spent enough time in alienated corners, talking to walls and dancing alone in echo chambers. So this thing – people recognizing each other, showing up, staying late, hauling gear, remembering names – it’s starting to hit different. However as time has gone on, I’m starting to notice the people in the scene who are in it for the community and the few who are in it for the business. Thank fuck for community and enhanced vision.

Also, let’s not skip over Figment & Pineal Perceptions – absolutely loved their trippy visuals. Lots of kaleidoscopes and ghostly geometry. You know, phantom shapes twisting in slow, deliberate panic – just the usual. I really like their use of color and hope I catch some of their work in the future.

Next up was SPINES and I was so excited – it has been exactly one year since I last saw SPINES play – Live in the Depths 75. Occurian was sitting next to me and quipped, “I think SPINES is the backbone of this show.” And he just stared blankly at me waiting for me to react until about 8 seconds later when I realized that Occurian is corny as fuck – but, still right, I suppose. So … fun fact, SPINES is an extraterrestrial. Which is great, because it means that age old question, “Can aliens make techno?” can finally be answered. SPINES’ sets are always very fun, very dancey – tight grooves, rubbery synth lines, and enough squelch to melt a circuit board. Their sets have this unhinged optimism and some of their tracks are shades of Yuzo Koshiro & Motohiro Kawashima. What more could you ask for? SPINES later told me that someone with a fedora came up to them during their set and asked SPINES to play something “soft and nice to dance to.” Obviously their request was denied, because SPINES’ set descended into a troposphere of demon riffs. You can see one of said demon’s riff below in a clip of the set. Excellent set – can’t wait to see them perform again.

The last set of the night was Akemie. All week long I’d been wondering what kind of set they were going to play because they primarily showcase their hyperpop aesthetic and glitter-slick vocals. What kind of set was this going to be? But when their set lurched to life and those ethereal bleeps and bloops started, I was a little taken aback – it was almost ethereal. A synthwave lullaby. Side note: I spoke to Akemie before the show and I asked them about their next album, but they told me they’re slowing releasing singles on Soundcloud over time and that their next big album will be just a compilation of their already released tracks. Just when I thought this was going to be a borderline ambient set, Akemie said, in full vocoded madness, “Now, I can get started with my set.” What a lovely troll. From there, it was a nice sprig of fun beats and modulated pop music. What a fun little showcase and a nice send off to the evening.

The first rule of Live in the Depths is that it’s not officially a start to the evening unless Dhug is yelling. The second rule of Live in the Depths is that it’s not officially an end to the evening unless Dhug is yelling. “If you’re not part of the break down crew, time to get the fuck out of here!” he yelled. He’s the only person that can curse at you and you know he’s actually saying, “I love you.” How do I know? Because right after that he said, “Hey, it comes from a place of love.”

Yes it does, Dhug. Yes it does. I love this community.

Videos Courtesy of Ramon Mills (Production Unit Xero)

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