On The Scene: The Other Place 30-09-2013

It’s no secret my feet are pretty firmly placed in the Jingwier camp – the DIY underground music platform that’s been seeing a resurgence these past few months with a planned zine releases at the end of October (more on that soon enough) have brushed shoulders with me more than once and I\’m happy to call many of them friends. And frankly, they’re actively putting out some of the more interesting music this side of town. And though last weekend their was no release party per say, it’s was a fine enough introduction to the bedroom electronica artist Lantern Festival, aka Johnny Brown.

Sun soaked, Oriental-flavored electronica – count me in. Check more out below from the London-raised, Beijing-based artist as well as sets from Thin Gaze and the unholy tag team of Damage Blanket and Noise Arcade all at The Other Place.

Just a taste – that was the extent of my run-in tonight with Thin Gaze – blame Christian emo rock – a shame cause I was mighty curious to see what the Toronto-bred fella had cooked up since last time. Guess lo-fi stark R&B ditties weren’t in the cards tonight.

The night belonged to Lantern Festival though – who shockingly managed to have the joint bopping with glee (dude’s gotta have a fan club of some sort) at his dreamy, tropical jams that recalls 60s pop just as much as the wave of bedroom electronica that has infiltrated indie circles back home.

And while the lyrics give you a sense of a man singing in the confines of his room, eyes closed, the songs are far from introverted. Jam packed with layers, ethereal sounds, and reverb, it’s a steamy pot of erotic elements which makes for some very endearing smile-inducing tunes.

An introduction ain’t a bad place to start – guess we can expect the album release in the near future. Till then feast your ears on these.

To close out the night, noise mongooses Damage Blanket and Noise Arcade gave audiences a ménage à trois of electronic mayhem – thick soundscapes, creeping madness, and all around electronic wankery, I’m surprised at how fluidly it all came together.

As someone noted later in the night, noise is making a comeback and finding its way into more mainstream arenas – from clubs to film – and from a personal standpoint, I’m really starting to come around to the possibilities. Got eleven minutes to kill – check out the long version here.

Kudos to Jingwier and keep your eyes peeled for the release of Volume 2, Issue 1 this October 26^th.