WW contributing writer Mitch Lillie helps the discerning club-goer put together their weekly calendar by compiling Portland's best dance-music options for the next seven days. Turn up, tune in, drop the bass.
Thursday
(8-11 pm, free, 21+)
â It has been a god damned Fade To Mind invasion of late, thanks in no small part to the Club Chemtrail crew of SPF666, Commune and of course Massacooramaan. I, for one, welcome our new dark, avant-dance overlords. On Thursday, the longtime veteran of LAâs Moustache Mondays and GHE20G0TH1K alum Total Freedom comes to the Rose. Heâs done wonderful, dark surgical things to Ciara, Lil Jon and Rihannaânow let him do those things to you. (10 pm, $5, 21+)
â Contact, Love, Want, Have is one of the best debut full-lengths by any producer ever, and Ikonikaâs had a lot to live up to since her 2010 record. Bass and dubstep exploded across the ridges of that album, but now have imploded to a very different space. Sara Abdel-Hamidâs latest effort, 2013âs Aerotropolis, is a synth-ridden jaunt through 1980âs Italy and its electronic disco sounds, still heard and aped around the world. âZen Sizzleâ is her finest hour, exploring an 808 like no one else does in this decade. Catch her at the Rose on Saturday. (9:30 pm, $8, 21+)
â Iâm pretty sure âindie danceâ was created as a genre to spare reclusive bedroom acts from big room, big budget dance musicâs Beatport chart monopolies. Still, there are often serious winners amidst the fray, one being Sydneyâs Rufus Du Sol, playing Saturday at Holocene. Atlas, last yearâs debut album, is full of wordplay-ridden vocal house hits, including the memorable âDesert Nights,â that feel like aloe after a long day in the sun. Maybe a lot of aloe: thereâs no ozone down there. (9 pm, $12, 21+)
â Honorable mention: Normally Seattle is off-limits for Beats Per Week, mostly due to jealousy at many major producers skipping Portland over. But this deserves special mention, because Osakaâs weird and wonderful Innit party is coming to Seattleâs Dial Up for one evening only, on Wednesday. Not only will the amazing Seiho be performing, but theyâll continue the Innit policy of inviting local producers to bring their own tracks to the show. The best of the bunch will get to play shows in Japanâseriously. (9 pm, free, 21+)
WWeek 2015