Not all that mundane

“I’m not good with words¬—I can’t spell, I’m horrible with grammar—but everything I want to say is spoken through my compositions, without words,” said electronic artist and occasional DJ Jeffrey Acciaioli. The musician defends his style as something that transcends traditional lyrical verbiage and enters a modern musical realm in which his truest form of expression has the space to explore and bloom.

Utilizing the sweeping technological advancements of the past few decades, Acciaioli, also known as The Great Mundane, creates the kind of music that is both easy listening and provocative. It’s the kind of electronic that can both fill up club dance floors and soothe you into a meditative trance.

If The Great Mundane was a seed in the wind, then the wind blew him to the Pub at the End of the Universe in southeast Portland, planted him in the soil of dusty open-mindedness and nourished him with cheap microbrews.

In the spirit of youthful exploration, Acciaioli left his home in Chicago for the west coast, unsure of what or whom he might find. One fateful evening, fellow electronic artist and label mate, Flashbulb, was playing a show in Portland. His opener didn’t show up and so he called up Acciaioli to throw down some tunes before his set. Lo and behold, The Great Mundane found himself a community of subcultural supporters, musicians and a new home.

“I’m not in the dub scene,” Acciaioli said. “I’m not in the hip-hop scene or a part of the wonky hip-hop movement. I’m trying to restructure and pull out bits and pieces of all the scenes to create something new, something my own.”

Acciaioli wants his music to be recognized for its musicianship rather than a medium for drug-induced hallucinations or a breeding ground for drug dealers. He strives for that low-key personal experience where the audience is coherent and receptive to his music, creating an interactive relationship between listener and performer.

Overall, Jeffrey Acciaioli has all the right ideas. He wants to move away from sampling pre-existing songs and towards the sampling of fellow friends and musicians, using their originality to build and work into his own music. He likes to make each show a completely unique experience.

In Chicago he conducted an experiment, having some friends attend six of his shows. Every show he played the same set, but the friends had no idea and they all thought it was six different set lists. He feeds off the vibes of the audience “100 percent!”

Acciaioli believes in communicating his mood through his compositions and is moved to hear his music has life-changing effects on listeners nationwide. In spite of his past, he wants to introduce electronic music to a wider audience, despite location, occupation or lifestyle. Creating and sharing all forms of music, from DJ sets to film scores, his lifestyle and energy is concentrated on spreading honesty and beauty throughout the world.