Electronic disturbance
Portland has a unique, eccentric and forward-moving electronic scene. In the words of Talkdemonic’s Kevin O’Connor, “We’re experiencing a ‘post’ sort of everything.” To get an idea what that meant I set out to talk to everyone I could that was a part of that post-scene scene and what better place than a night called Kultureszene.
Last week was the start of a new collaborative effort by DJs 31Avas and M. Quiet. They put together a night to draw people into the electronic scene by offering new music that is fresh and interesting, and trusting that people in Portland could handle something a little different from your standard dance party. I went to their first Kultureszene night at Dunes to get a look into what the people involved in the scene thought about Portland electronic music.
Steve Schrieberl, aka Let’s Go Outside, a well-known local laptop techno producer and dancer, weighed in by commenting, “Portland is full of artists that entertain each other.” When asked to name who he thought was big in representing electronic music, almost everyone he named was in the room, which was the same response I got when I talked to each of those people. 31Avas, aka Ava Hegedus, summed it up much the same, “[M. Quiet and I] feel like the Portland electronic scene is intentionally exclusive, but it’s very insular. The same people are at a lot of shows.”
Everyone I talked to at Kultureszene had the same thoughts on the small scene. In a later conversation with Elliott Adams, director of PSU’s Popular Music Board, longtime DJ (DJ Othertempo), promoter and all-around music-industry magnate, I got a better sense for what the electronic music in Portland as a whole was like. He let me in on the idea that Portland didn’t have an electronic music scene, but rather “a lot of little sub-cultures.” It wasn’t that it was just one group of people going to shows, but each group supporting its own niche. He elaborated as well on how, compared to other cities Portland’s size, we represent a lot more of the different little sub-genres.
Derek Fisher, one half of Sexy Robot Music, explained to me how it all worked: “We might be post-everything, but we still have accomplished DJs and producers moving here.” Which goes to show that despite the separation, we are still growing, still expanding and there are still enough interested people to make an electronic scene possible. I would contend, though, that more people should realize that there is something relevant going on every night in Portland, and that staying home to watch “America’s Next Top Model” when you could be out dancing is ultimately slowing the growth of a city that has always been on the cusp of being the next big thing.
