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Start festival weekend off with live electronic music, performances, and great DJs of Detroit.

MOCAD
4454 Woodward Ave.
Detroit, MI

CHROMATIC JACKIE is a collaboration between a visual artist, a dancer, and a musician. Visual artist Dana Bell choreographs movements with CGI (computer graphics interface) software and pairs it with sound fragments provided by Sam Consiglio (formerly of Adult. and Tamion 12 Inch). The dancer Sari Nordman interprets digitally generated movements and modular, self-contained systems of choreography produced by software, synchronizing with an original sound piece written for this project.

MAGAS: James Marlon Magas has been creating unconventional music since 1992, with avant rock bands Couch and Lake of Dracula, and since 1999 as the solo electronic artist Magas. In the late ’90s, Magas became very interested in electronic dance music and set out to create his own. Humble beginnings with an MC-505 Groovebox attracted the attention of Detroit’s ADULT., who gave Magas a crash course in analog production, as well as releasing his ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Friends Forever’ on their Ersatz Audio imprint. Over the past couple of years, Magas has shifted focus from performance to production, favoring an instrumental, semi-improvised direction.

DJs from the massively popular and fun residencies Macho City and Disco/Secret play music all night.

Admission: $5

‘Music Is Easy’ is the new EP by MAGAS, coming soon on New Jersey. 4 new instrumental tracks of propulsive analog electronics. Clocking in at almost 30 minutes, this EP offers listeners extended opportunities for physical involvement.

All songs written and produced by James Marlon Magas at Wizardlook, Chicago, 2013.

Tracklist:
A1: Countess
A2: Music Is Easy
B1: Alfa Romeo
B2: Layers of Understanding

Here’s a preview:

Out now on Notes and Bolts:
MAGAS: Pspoilers cassette (Ltd. to 100)

Pspoilers contains 6 new instrumental works by MAGAS with a bonus live B-side recorded live in Chicago by Bob Konow. These six songs were composed on the Roland TR-808, the ARP Odyssey 2800 mk 1, Arturia Minibrute, Casio RZ-1, Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, Korg Monotribe, Korg Monotron Delay. Pspoilers represents a new stylistic turn in the Magas repertoire: all-instrumental music, as discussed in the Chicago Tribune with Jessica Hopper.

The 2nd track on Pspoilers, entitled ‘Checkers’, was reviewed by Marc Masters on Pitchfork. Listen here:


You can order Pspoilers HERE!

I was interviewed by Jessica Hopper, in today’s Chicago Tribune.

Jim Magas interview – chicagotribune.com.

THURSDAY, MARCH 7th, 8pm at Mayne Stage (1328 Morse Ave.)
SONS OF THE SILENT AGE (Chris Connelly’s DAVID BOWIE tribute band)
with special guest
MAGAS

Show starts at 8pm sharp, doors open at 7:30.

MORE INFO HERE

Noise Park, MAGAS.

MAGAS
JEREMY LEMOS & PETER SPEER
ANDY ORTMANN
DJ MATT ZIVICH

An insane night of analog electronics, from this diverse range of long-time practitioners.

This show is FREE, but you must RSVP. Otherwise, it’s $8.
http://www.emptybottle.com/show/3238404/

Just go to Ticketweb like you’re going to purchase a ticket and click the RSVP option.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2ND at THE BURLINGTON, CHICAGO 9PM
MOON POOL AND DEAD BAND live

“It seemed like everyone in the noise underground made a dance record last year, and some of the finest came from the Wolf Eyes camp. Of those, Nate Young’s Stay Asleep (Regression Vol. 2) received a lot of the shine, but Young’s work with Dave Shettler in Moon Pool & Dead Band was equally inventive. Human Fly, their first release of 2012, finds them as amorphous as ever.”–Steve Karr, Resident Advisor

MAGAS live

“Big-bottom beats, wild pitch-warped synths, distorted vocals, hammered loops, and wonk and whir come off as a new, (yes, new) electro-swamp music for the dawn of this final century — though that “swamp” is made up decaying burned out Americans in a malaise caused by rampant consumerism, a trashed environment that nobody can admit to, and the boredom that comes with having seen it all and done it all; coming to the point of total exhaustion itself. There’s isn’t anything left but aimless and speedy, whirling motion. There are no bayous or Everglades in the Magas world. He seems to glean a kind of happiness from it all and how can you blame him? He may be the last enlightened man. There is no such thing as existential angst in Magas’ life.” –Thom Jurek, Allmusic

BEAU WANZER live
http://jak-nation.com/index.php?id=35
Beau Wanzer lives in Chicago. He is one half of Mutant Beat Dance and one half of Streetwalker. He spends the majority of his days sifting through paraffin embedded tissues and reading old copies of Fangoria. He likes synths and drum machines too. He is currently working on an Ep for Nation.

MIKE BROERS dj
http://ghostarcadeltd.bandcamp.com/
Mike Broers runs local Chicago imprint Ghost Arcade LTD. He has been releasing under-the-radar electronic gold since 2001 (and recording since 1997) but only recently began performing solo. During most of 2010 and 2011 Broers worked with Michael Perkins/MR666 providing video collage and live synthesizer percussion and bass. http://soundcloud.com/jimmagas

Artist: MAGAS
Title: Lake Shore Drive
Format: Cassette
Catalog number: FF0430

TRACKLIST:
1. Lake Shore Drive (14:59)
2. Mutants (15:00)

‘Lake Shore Drive’ represents a stylistic transition for MAGAS. Most of my solo work to date has been more or less song-structured, albeit couched in unconventional style. ‘LSD’ is a departure from this methodology and explores a more spontaneous and free sound exploration. I go into it with no expectations and surprise myself. No matter what sort of ‘failure’ (not my word, mind you) that may occur in the stream-of-conscious performance, ‘quality’ is ensured, as the raw sound character of the instruments used ensures success: ARP Odyssey 2800 (used on ‘May I Meet My Accuser’ and ‘Violent ARP’), the brand new Arturia MiniBrute, a borrowed SH-101, all anchored to the steady ‘always there’ beat of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. These two tracks were recorded live in one take at Magas’s Chicago Wizardlook studio and are presented here, unedited.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15th, 2012 at The Burlington

LEGOWELT – Live / The Hague
XOSAR – Live / Los Angeles
MAGAS – Live / Chicago
NASTY NOD – Live / Chicago
ALEXANDER BASSETT – Live / Chicago

I, Magas, will be doing an improvised instrumental set for drum machine and synthesizer.