SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDE
Architecture + Music = Frozen Poetry
Sergio Martinez, Socal.com Editor
Goethe said it best: Architecture is frozen poetry. Except that we all
know that poetry is just about everything, so that he could’ve as well
meant: Architecture is frozen music.
And to bring about the defrost, local digital wiz CONSTANT FLUX will be
duking it out along with VJ FOC:EYE at the A + D Architecture and Design
Museum (5900 Wilshire Blvd, directly across from LACMA on Museum Row)
on July 28th from 6 to 10 pm.
Best of all, the event is FREE so take this chance to peek at amazing new
trends in architecture while also allowing your ears to tune-in to some new,
experimental sounds and your eyes to some bodacious visual candy.
Constant Flux and Foc:eye are performing as part of the opening celebration
for the exhibit 2x8: SWELL. Both artists have a reputable career in both the
local and international scenes for truly radical sound and VJ work. They’ve
steeped their compositions for this exhibit into all things urban, considering
the exhibit’s metropolitan theme. Many of their sounds are ‘based on
architectural forms and structures. The sonic sculptures are then used to
create compositions intended to reflect our cities vibrant pace and complex
landscape. Everything is then translated back into the visual realm by motion
visual artist collaborators.
And what’s 2x8 SWELL, you may ask?
Well, check it out, directly from their PR materials:
2x8 : SWELL
JULY 14 - AUGUST 18
The 2x8 is an annual exhibition sponsored by the AIA/LA (American Institute
of Architects), showcasing exemplary student work from architecture and
design institutions throughout California. Celebrating the unequaled diversity
in pedagogical directions, each of the sixteen participating academic
programs select two projects that exemplify its core vision. Through this
important exhibition, we hope to forge an invaluable link between this
emerging talent and the professional world, giving rise to significant
collaborations and alliances vital to the improvement of our built environment.
This year's fourth annual 2x8 exhibition is entitled Swell. Open to many
interpretations, Swell encompasses a wide variety of processes and
pedagogies these institutions offer. Each of the participating institutions is
given the freedom to utilize, define or manipulate the phrase as it wishes,
creating a remarkable range of ideas and imagery illustrated in the selected
projects. In addition to these presentations, student-run forum at the exhibit
space will extend a critical discourse on design and its impact in the local and
global community.
MIXER (FOUR STAR REVIEW!!)
The debut from LA-based producer Douglas Rimerman,
an album of experimental breakbeats that finds the middle
ground between IDM and the dancefloor. STEPPING away
from the static blips and bleeps prevalent in IDM, Constant Flux
spews his beats over fluid backgrounds, creating a clear-yet-
cluttered style that fills your ears but never overwhelms them.
Trance, techno, and drum'n'bass influences help the album maintain
constant motion without settling into any of the genres' predictable
formats.
JUSTIN PAUL
REMIX
CONSTANT FLUX All Things Change (:/run) Rising IDM
producer ghosts his machine. Los Angeles-based Constant Flux
is deft at creating musical atmospheres that set the tone for L.A.
art events. On All Things Change, many of the tracks feel like love
songs for artificially intelligent beings. Most involving are “Mercury
Cocktail” and “Distorted Ripple,” featuring melodic synths over whirring,
clicking and bleeping effects. Flux keeps his bpm down to darken and
mystify his exploration of minor chords, break beats and trancey effects.
All is eerie but pleasurably listenable.
— Stacia Monteith
SAN FRANCISCO THE EXAMINER
L.A.-based producer Douglas Rimerman aka Constant Flux
brings IDM in for a landing, taking the genre's outer-space
vibe by the hand and leading it to the edge of the dance floor.
The result is a moving collection of experimental breaks that
may not satisfy strictly dance types but will surely inspire head-
bobbing and shoulder jerking for those with ears as open as
their minds.
ALL MUSIC GUIDE
Los Angeles producer Douglas Rimerman is one of the few Americans
producing listening techno (aka IDM) without a European connection,
whether it be a label, scene, or touring partners. Favoring a kitchen-sink
approach to production that encompasses ambient breakbeats, dub,
and ambient techno, Rimerman issued his Constant Flux debut, All Things
Change, in 2002 on :/Run Recordings. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
IGLOO
Constant Flux :: All Things Change (:/Run Recordings, CD)
"...All Things Change spans through a variety of styles from downbeat
loungy numbers like "Distorted Ripple" to the rather upbeat, bass-infested
fury of "Mercury Cocktail" where a chemically charged melody is
complimented by creative electro-breaks..."
Pietro Da Sacco, Editor
Doug Rimerman is part of the burgeoning IDM scene in North America..
hailing from Los Angeles, California, he manifests his experimental
breakbeats under the Constant Flux moniker. All Things Change represents
the growth in electronics where rhythmic melodies collide against abrasive
and upbeat electro-breaks. Waves of atmospheric ambience blend
harmoniously with structured beats and watery basslines. These are just
a fraction of the frequencies that one can extract from this impressive
debut full-length on :/Run Recordings. Constant Flux has also been featured
on a wide variety of Radio stations including KCRW (89.9 FM) & KXLU
(88.9 FM) both in Los Angeles where his live performances have generated
quite a stir in the experimental electronic music community. On February 7th
(Friday night/Saturday morning) Constant Flux is also prepared to perform
live for Southern California's Digital::Nimbus (Experimental Electronic) Radio
Program at KUCI (88.9 FM, Irvine: 12-3am PST).
All Things Change spans through a variety of styles from downbeat loungy
numbers like "Distorted Ripple" to the rather upbeat, bass-infested fury of
"Mercury Cocktail" where a chemically charged melody is complimented by
creative electro-breaks. The title track ("All Things Change") spreads a high-
energy bassline next to subliminally stretched robotic voices and gritty
electrical frequencies. For a debut release, All Things Change carves a direct
slice through glitchy electro and robotic breakbeats. While the music stands
on its own, credit for the artwork on this enticing Digi-Pack goes to Ray
Noland; the live visual-work for Constant Flux's shows are provided by Yo
Suzuki.
Constant Flux will be performing live on Digital::Nimbus with a CD Give-
Away also planned for the evening of Friday, February 7th from midnight -
3am (PST). Tune in live (or online) from Irvine, California at KUCI, 88.9 FM (a
streaming link is also available for those outside of Southern-California).
All Things Change is out now on Run Recordings.
INK19
Constant Flux
All Things Change
:Run Recordings
L.A. producer Douglas Rimerman -- you know, Constant Flux --
is bringing IDM to our shores. The man testifies well for his
nascent scene on this album. All Things Change is an impressive
debut that will not shake the Earth or your ass but will have you
contemplating Rimerman's talents and potential. He'll break a beat
without provocation and dabbles a bit in the avant garde side of
life. However, throughout a lot of the album, whether it's a cardiac
explosion d&b track or thumping dub/downtempo beat, one cannot
get that Depeche Mode feeling out of your cranium. Flux is obviously
a fan, and he treats his progenitors well. His is a name you should
look for in the future.
:Run Recordings: http://www.runrecordings.com
Bill Campbell