Rising from ‘Underground’
Promoters crank up creativity for livestream music, video event
One of the pandemic’s silver linings is that it’s prompted producers of music and art events to come up with especially creative ideas. Like a night of DJs, videos and underground music that streams out from London and Boston simultaneously.
Billed as “Underground Sounds From Across the Atlantic” the event is set to stream via Facebook on Saturday, beginning at 5 p.m. and going well into the evening. Two local promoters — video artist Callie Chapman and musician Dez DeCarlo of the band Violet Nox — have teamed with U.K. promoter Glen Lewis to bring together a night of electronic and experimental music, hiphop, DJ sets and video. Other Boston acts include the DJ Noise Artistry and two of the city’s best electronic pop artists, Andre Obin and Casey Desmond. (The link will be at linktr.ee/VioletNox).
The musical performances were all recorded in advance, but Chapman will be working in real time to mix the material and enhance it with video art. “I plan to have lots of applications open at the same time,” she said. “When I’m doing live visuals, I have a certain bank of source materials that I draw from, listen to whatever is supplied musically, and play off that. So there is a collaborative vibe going on, even if it’s just me sitting here in my office.”
Her work, she says, has some roots in what psychedelic light-show artists were doing in the ’60s. “That’s the nature of the beast. If you utilize video, you’re going back to basic principles that were highlighted in the ’60s with the visuals they used; you’re using the same clay to create. Now we have much more advanced clay.”
Chapman and DeCarlo have both promoted shows at Studio 550, a Central Square space that became a pandemic casualty. DeCarlo also played plenty of rockclub gigs before moving into alternative spaces. “You get tired of dealing with venues and waiting for the booker to call you back,” she said. “Not that we didn’t like playing Great Scott or Once, but we decided to DIY it. Spaces can start to appear, whether it’s somebody’s house or a basement. That’s where you gain your fans. And that’s what I’d encourage musician friends to do when we can get out again.”
The U.K. hookup came when Chapman and DeCarlo did an online event last December and were approached by Lewis, who produces club events in London. He’s pulled in some artists who don’t often come to the U.S., including the Deckadent Movement, an electronic duo, and the DJ Flux Pariah, who will close out the night.
A DJ-type show is supposed to be a communal event, but both insist that quality doesn’t have to be lost in a streamed show — especially when the chat function is available. Said DeCarlo, “They dance in front of their computers. When we did our last show in December, I personally got so excited that it felt as good as going to a live gig,” Added Chapman, “The live experience comes from everyone watching together. You make time in your own space to create the atmosphere you want, to experience the music or the visuals. People can engage with each other, they can say, ‘Hey, look at that’. It’s super magical when you start feeling the energy coming through the screen.”