Skip to main content[RADIO DISNEY] The last thing you'd ever expect to hear at an electronic music show is something from The Lion King. But that's not going to stop Jeffrey Jerusalem.
"Me and my girlfriend were singing 'The Circle of Life,' and I was like, 'Oh man, I could have a setup where I do the Nants ingonyama! and then push a button and have [it sing] Sithi uhhmm ingonyama! Jerusalem says about his decision to open shows with a call-and-response rendition of the much-derided Elton John hit.
Onstage, Jerusalem—the solo guise of East Coast transplant Jeff Brodsky—does everything he can to eliminate dance-music stereotypes. A bouncing ball of energy, he hops between a laptop, keyboard and roto-toms, creating languid, abrasive and downright fun electronic tracks that span from glitch to IDM to downtempo in a matter of minutes. His music is disparate, but held together by playfulness and a love of rhythm (Brodsky also plays drums for experimental rock band Inside Voices and prog-folk duo Powernap).
"There's this tension in electronic pop or dance music where it's either super energetic and doesn't mind being pop or it's this New York elite music with a pile of sounds that has to be specific to '80s- or late '70s-inspired disco," says Jerusalem, 25. "I think it's good to be sort of in the middle of that. I want it to be fun."
After dabbling in "cutesy, electronic break-up pop" while attending Bard College, Brodsky realized he wanted to make an electronic record on his own terms. His aesthetic, and desire to embrace popular culture and tech-head tendencies, is visible on Grimace, last year's full-length released under the Jerusalem moniker. An eclectic, engaging set of music, it never fully rests on one style, moving from the glitchy Donna Summer-sampling "Motown Blackout" to the piano-fueled album highlight "Disco Dry Mouth."
Playing live, though, means giving the people what they want. "People aren't interested in cerebral electronic music anymore," Brodsky says. "They want to dance."
Jeffrey Jerusalem plays Supernature at Rotture on Saturday, April 18. 9 pm. $5. 21+.
WWeek 2015