Live Music is Good for Your HEALTH.
written + photographed by hunter astrid
I am personally new to electronic industrial and noise music, and I think this show was a ver interesting way to throw myself into it. The three bands I saw this night were similar but very different in many ways.
One of the most unique bands I’ve ever heard or seen was the first band of the night, Street Sects. Form in 2013 in Austin, Texas, the band consists of vocalist Leo Ashline and multi-instrumentalist Shaun Ringsmuth. I think that the best way to describe their sound, other than experimental, would be extremely abrasive. They use industrial rhythms and samples of noise and synthesizers paired with nihilistic lyrics that are sometimes hard to understand due to the aggressive nature of the screaming of the vocals. Yet, this works very well for the duo. Their music is a pretty good combination of punk rock and industrial noise music that has a variety of “nightmarish samples.” Shaun Ringsmuth has a very unique and interesting way of combining “industrial noises and machine gun sounds with crashing cymbals.” If you want to branch out from your normal music and experience something obscure, I would go give them a listen.
The second artist to go on for the night was Perturbator from Paris, France. James Kent, whose stage name is Perturbator, has a very interesting musical background. He was the guitarist of many heavy metal bands before switching in 2012 to start producing electronic noise music inspired by cyberpunk culture as well as movies like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. His lighting visuals really do go hand-in-hand with the cyberpunk influence. A lot of his music, much of it considered synthwave, was very reminiscent of house and/or club music. It definitely went over well with the crowd and quickly brought up the energy in the entire venue.
The third and last band to take the stage was HEALTH. Formed in 2005, HEALTH is a noise rock band from Los Angeles, California that consists of members Jake Duzsik (vocals + guitar), John Famiglietti (bass, pedals + electronics), and BJ Miller (drums). In 2007, the band remixed the song ‘Crimewave’ by Crystal Castles and this remix started the give HEALTH traction. As well as releasing multiple studio albums, in 2012 they did the soundtrack for video game Max Payne 3. The monotone and soft vocals come off as haunting when combined with raw synth sounds paired with the rhythm of the drums used. Recently, lyrics in music have been so literal and metaphoric, yet HEALTH goes a different route.Their lyrics are “purposely left vague for the listener.” Although considered an industrial noise band, they’re not “interested in being a noisy screaming band.” They had a bit more of a calmer vibe than the other two bands, but their energy and stage presence was still just as powerful.
