White Ring at Elboroom
A Sound Art/Music Review by Lucas Marsh
So I'm approaching the point where I thought I was sick of the electronic music: the electro, house, the dubstep, the 8bit, the glitch, trance, (trip hop) the etc., blah, etc. (the expanse of sub genres pointless listing off, nor could I ever do that because I hardly care to waste our time). So my friend Sam at Berkeley (UC) hits me up and says something along the lines of "Hey man I'm gunna be in San Francisco tonight for this weird ass show at Elboroom called "White Ring" and you'd probably be down". I asked if I could "chalk it up as an art show because I had to write some silly paper for one of my classes (GWAR, duh)”. He said it was some “crazy hip hop sound art” and that there’d be a barrage of weird people and trannies and shit” and which made me reconsider joining the man. And then my other friend hit me up, stoked that I was going to meet both of them at the show (they also both needed a place to stay in San Francisco as well, I’m sure half of the reason both of them were stoked to meet up with me… why do I always assume the worst out of people… hmm). So we go to this kid’s house that I’ve known since high school from Roseville named Chris, my friend Dan, Chris’s girlfriend and her friend for some time. I tell them about the show and nobody is down to go. So we went to a USF party in the Haight, having first to open a bottle of wine with a shoe. We opened the portal only to find an apartment land where the guys had tank tops and the girls were ugly. So I looked for a moment when I could break out of there.
I suddenly made my move as some jacked asshole began to elaborate on how awesome Academy of Art panned out to be for him, or something (I was annoyed by his mock collar Emporio Armani euro trash influence). I decided not to talk shit about how much money he wasted and how portfolios are the only thing that really matters (or so they tell us) in getting work, a gallery, residency, gradschool acceptance etc.. I grabbed Dan and we took a cab to the Mission, met up with Sam and the other friend David, and passed around the bottle of wine I’d opened “via shoe” in an alley way (it really doesn’t even sound that cool on paper). I got in and immediately waved at the people selling tickets like I’d just been outside havin’ a smoke and skipped on paying the ten dollar entrance fee and then proceeded to run upstairs.
So then I was transported through the “stairwell portal” and into a kind of alien infested, haunted, “Enter the Void” slaughterhouse realm. It’s like Crystal Castles on Salvia (yes, specifically). There was no dancing initially, only attempts to comprehend. And then there were glitched break downs, gangster rap, dubsteppies, electro, etc. and then it would stop and return to droney “murder land”. It was fucking crazy. I’m in the electronics and robotics class and so seeing how White Ring’s visual effects (probably integrated using Max MSP). It was a culmination and integration of so much party music available while maintaining this dark undertone reminiscent of a Satanic Blood Orgy (no I have not been to one……………………yet?). So I danced like I was “serving” Satan himself; that fool could never beat me in a dance off regardless of how expansive his evil-wielding powers are.
So then I checked out their influences and surprisingly it is mostly DJ Screw “chopped and screwed” Houston Swisha House gangster rap. Interestingly I hate every song that’s ever been chopped and screwed. Maybe I don’t “pour up” enough and sip enough sizzurp ( promethezine + codeine syrup + seven up or sprite + a Jolly Rancher = sizzurp) to be into chop and screw. Here is an example: listen to UGK’s hit “One Day” and get stoked.
Now listen to the DJ Screw chopped and screwed remix of the same song and get angry:
But White Ring and other “WitchHouse” artists apply this style to electronic music. And so I have some new stuff to listen to. Sweet.
A Sound Art/Music Review by Lucas Marsh
So I'm approaching the point where I thought I was sick of the electronic music: the electro, house, the dubstep, the 8bit, the glitch, trance, (trip hop) the etc., blah, etc. (the expanse of sub genres pointless listing off, nor could I ever do that because I hardly care to waste our time). So my friend Sam at Berkeley (UC) hits me up and says something along the lines of "Hey man I'm gunna be in San Francisco tonight for this weird ass show at Elboroom called "White Ring" and you'd probably be down". I asked if I could "chalk it up as an art show because I had to write some silly paper for one of my classes (GWAR, duh)”. He said it was some “crazy hip hop sound art” and that there’d be a barrage of weird people and trannies and shit” and which made me reconsider joining the man. And then my other friend hit me up, stoked that I was going to meet both of them at the show (they also both needed a place to stay in San Francisco as well, I’m sure half of the reason both of them were stoked to meet up with me… why do I always assume the worst out of people… hmm). So we go to this kid’s house that I’ve known since high school from Roseville named Chris, my friend Dan, Chris’s girlfriend and her friend for some time. I tell them about the show and nobody is down to go. So we went to a USF party in the Haight, having first to open a bottle of wine with a shoe. We opened the portal only to find an apartment land where the guys had tank tops and the girls were ugly. So I looked for a moment when I could break out of there.
I suddenly made my move as some jacked asshole began to elaborate on how awesome Academy of Art panned out to be for him, or something (I was annoyed by his mock collar Emporio Armani euro trash influence). I decided not to talk shit about how much money he wasted and how portfolios are the only thing that really matters (or so they tell us) in getting work, a gallery, residency, gradschool acceptance etc.. I grabbed Dan and we took a cab to the Mission, met up with Sam and the other friend David, and passed around the bottle of wine I’d opened “via shoe” in an alley way (it really doesn’t even sound that cool on paper). I got in and immediately waved at the people selling tickets like I’d just been outside havin’ a smoke and skipped on paying the ten dollar entrance fee and then proceeded to run upstairs.
So then I was transported through the “stairwell portal” and into a kind of alien infested, haunted, “Enter the Void” slaughterhouse realm. It’s like Crystal Castles on Salvia (yes, specifically). There was no dancing initially, only attempts to comprehend. And then there were glitched break downs, gangster rap, dubsteppies, electro, etc. and then it would stop and return to droney “murder land”. It was fucking crazy. I’m in the electronics and robotics class and so seeing how White Ring’s visual effects (probably integrated using Max MSP). It was a culmination and integration of so much party music available while maintaining this dark undertone reminiscent of a Satanic Blood Orgy (no I have not been to one……………………yet?). So I danced like I was “serving” Satan himself; that fool could never beat me in a dance off regardless of how expansive his evil-wielding powers are.
A Video I filmed of "White Ring" Live at Elbow Room
So then I checked out their influences and surprisingly it is mostly DJ Screw “chopped and screwed” Houston Swisha House gangster rap. Interestingly I hate every song that’s ever been chopped and screwed. Maybe I don’t “pour up” enough and sip enough sizzurp ( promethezine + codeine syrup + seven up or sprite + a Jolly Rancher = sizzurp) to be into chop and screw. Here is an example: listen to UGK’s hit “One Day” and get stoked.
Now listen to the DJ Screw chopped and screwed remix of the same song and get angry:
But White Ring and other “WitchHouse” artists apply this style to electronic music. And so I have some new stuff to listen to. Sweet.
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