My Hollow Drum's Geekdown With Non Projects
Feb. 24, 2011
The Crosby
Last night at The Crosby in Santa Ana was My Hollow Drum's monthly Geekdown, Non Projects edition, with sets from Anenon (Non Projects' founder, musician and composer Brian Simon) and a.d.l.r. (Nicholas Morera). Unfortunately Asura (a.k.a. Ryan York) couldn't make it due to that nasty flu everyone has gotten over the past few weeks.
Feb. 24, 2011
The Crosby
Last night at The Crosby in Santa Ana was My Hollow Drum's monthly Geekdown, Non Projects edition, with sets from Anenon (Non Projects' founder, musician and composer Brian Simon) and a.d.l.r. (Nicholas Morera). Unfortunately Asura (a.k.a. Ryan York) couldn't make it due to that nasty flu everyone has gotten over the past few weeks.
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If you aren't familiar with My Hollow Drum, they're a 10-person crew of DJs, producers and artists–Arti, Bahwee, Co.Fee, Kab, Lvst, p.Lo, Teebs, Tully, Swass and yuk.–split between Orange County and Chino Hills, with close ties to dublab and Low End Theory. MHD's Geekdown has hosted everyone from The Gaslamp Killer to TOKiMONSTA in the past, so Anenon and a.d.l.r. joined the ranks of some of LA's best beatmakers to play the Crosby.
In our preview of the Geekdown, Anenon told us to expect “a night full of head-nodder beats, beautiful and droney washes of sound, ephemeral melodies.” That's exactly what we got: mesmerizing soundscapes, ethereal beats, tone poems, and even a little funk filled the space from 9 p.m. til close.
The evening started out quietly with Teebs' delicate blooming beats. The early-'70s French trip, animated sci-fi film Fantastic Planet, was projected over his paintings above the Crosby's doorway, adding additional layers of color and textures onto the already-psychedelic film. The Crosby was filled with booming bass, hip-hop beat and lots of relaxing, airy female vocals (my favorite was the Laura Darlington sample from Daedelus' “Order of the Golden Dawn”.
The Crosby is the perfect venue for a night of music from some of LA/OC's most talented young DJs and producers. Dark and intimate, it's ideal for enjoying a low-key night, and it has heavenly crinkled sweet-potato fries. Another reason why the Crosby is awesome? It's owned by Free the Robots, whose full-length debut, Ctrl Alt Delete, was one of the strongest local releases last year.
Personal Bias: I have to say that yuk. is still my favorite MHD member, so I was excited to see him do a set. His A D W A tape was the label's first official release–a gorgeous, hazy, ambient electronic album–and one of my favorites of 2010. He introduced me to MHD, and I've followed the group ever since.
The Crowd: Totally chill.
Overheard in the Crowd: No opportunity for overhearing anything with the Crosby's incredible sound system. Guess that's one way to make sure no one talks over the music!
Random Notebook Dump: Next time, try the truffle fries (MIA-style).
