Jega @ Oscillate
IDM doesn’t have the clout it used to. Once a nexus a of innovation, it seems to have been eclipsed by newer styles in the hearts of many electronic music enthusiasts. The revival of disco-derived styles and their crossover into indie/pop consciousness, and the spread of UK bass music (dubstep, etc.) have left little room for the genre in recent years. But the chin-stroking, headphone-centric style still has plenty of blood in its veins, and some of its key progenitors are putting out work as vital as ever.
Jega can be counted among these progenitors, and his live set at Chop Suey last night served to demolish any doubts about the vitality of IDM, and serve as a reminder that the “D” in IDM is just as important as the “I”. the (admittedly sparse) crowd was happy to keep time to Jega’s erratic drum explorations using their bodies.
The set started off on a slower, mellower note, full of lush pads, rich melody, and drum patterns that skittered underneath it all. As the night progressed, the music became less melodic, pushing the synths to the background in favor of ever more intricately sliced breakbeats and noisy pulses, moving from the quiet, contemplative end of the musical spectrum all the way to full-on breakbeat madness. He even played an encore, an oddity in electronic music circles, that kept the intensity notched at its highest setting.
Openers ndCv and Obelus kept the mood calm and spacey before Jega took the stage, playing very textural, hip-hop tempo pieces in the vein of Boards of Canada or Seefeel. The transition into Jega’s more laid-back material was smooth, easing us into the quickly escalating pace of his set. This is where IDM excels; while there are certain touchstones of the genre, it’s very freeform when it comes to tempo and mood, and this set of artists brought the audience along on a tour of plenty different mindstates.
