On the night of Saturday, April 5th, there was no shortage of recommended shows to go see. One of those shows was at Grey Area in San Francisco, home to creative and unique events that cater to electronic and technological arts. This one fit well with that category, where Las Sucias and the Turntable Trio performed to a captivating audience who were geared up for a night of wild sounds focused on electronic beats and the deconstruction of the typical DJ turntablist.
Las Sucias is a Feminist noise duo hailing from Oakland, and this was their first appearance in years. Their opening set was an excellent cacophony of electronic noise to start the mood of the evening. They were dressed with fluorescent face paint that the black light illuminated, with a setup of two tables full of electronics and Caribbean percussion. Their introduction of a drony background wall of sound was followed by pulsating beats where artists Alexandra Buschman and Danishta Rivero would emit chant-like vocals that set the listener into a trance-like state. It wasn’t harsh noise or EDM, but well-controlled blocks of sound that were shaped to form grooving beat patterns as their set went on, which would flow into their next number that leads you to more exploration of sound. It was very experimental, yet also very danceable, and it was a nice way to see Las Sucias return, if only for a brief moment.
The Turntable trio were next and had their setup on the floor at audience level but had a backdrop of an overhead projection of their turntable antics for all to see. The trio was composed of Maria Chávez, Evicshen (Victoria Shen) and Mariam Rezaei. This was not your typical Grandmaster Flash turntable function but a wall of sound that molded elements of musique concrète, free improvisation, noise, techno and hip-hop with instrument building and modification, and dubbed the term New Turntablism. Their styles bring to mind Otomo Yoshihide or Christian Marclay, who push the boundaries of turntable performing as music, but the trio push those boundaries even further, dismantling, even breaking records, to bring structure to a chaotic element that felt dangerous yet not putting you in harm’s way. Maria’s and Mariam’s turntable playing was mixed with Victoria’s use of an array of all sorts of contact mic’d snare rivets, music box, piano wire, and an actual whip for sonic intensity. I liked Victoria’s creative use of her stylus fingernails splayed on all matters of colour designed vinyl to a joyful, scratchy effect. Performances like this need to be experienced more due to the intensity that the public needs to hear on a fairly regular basis. It would be safe not to hire them at your wedding, unless it’s your thing, which I would fully welcome and hire myself.
Review by Moe Staiano
