When the days of lockdown struck in 2020, the Memphis Concrète Experimental Electronic Music Festival had to scrap plans for their fourth annual event. From 2017 to 2019, the gathering devoted to the unconventional sounds, rhythms, and textures of synthesizers, audio loops, and heavy processing had steadily gathered steam and a wider audience, culminating in the appearance of 2019’s headliners, Matmos. That momentum came to a screeching halt in the pandemic. And while a virtual version of the festival was held in 2021, the uncertainties of Covid’s Omicron variant prevented anything from happening last year.
That makes this week’s return to live Memphis Concrète performances at Crosstown Concourse very welcome, as the Green Room brightens up with the oscillating lights of synths once more, 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 17th, and 3 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, June 18th. Yet it’s more of a continuation of the Memphis Concrète brand than its rebirth: Even as the annual live festival has been on hold, the organization has promoted smaller shows throughout the year, such that Memphis Concrète has become a trusted name in electronic-leaning shows.
It’s no surprise, then, that the festival proper is more of a culminating endpoint to events that started last week and continue through the days leading to the weekend. Last Wednesday at the Hi-Tone saw a four-band mix of “ambient/noise/techno/hyperpop.” This Tuesday, the Memphis Listening Lab showcased the recordings of acts booked in the Green Room. And this Thursday, June 15th, will see Memphis Concrète take to the spacious Crosstown Theater, as festival founder Robert Traxler is joined by two collaborators — Revenge Body and Optic Sink’s Natalie Hoffman — in a live score to 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
“I’ve made a version of the movie with as much of the original sound taken out as possible — when there’s not dialogue — to give more room for what we’re doing,” says Traxler. “It’s a slightly modified version of the movie sound; I took out the sound, edited it, and put it back together.”
In the same gonzo spirit, the next night’s event will be a “Harsh Noise Karaoke” at the Lamplighter Lounge. “It’s not karaoke in the traditional sense,” explains Traxler, “but we’ll have a table with stuff that makes sound on it and some microphones, and you come and you play around with it, making some noise. It will be a user-activated thing. You know, turn some knobs and have some fun.”
Then comes the main attraction, a smorgasbord of 15 acts over two days, with four more “electroacoustic performances” tagged on at the end. While the festival has booked national touring acts more in the past, this year is somewhat more Memphis-centric, albeit with plenty of out-of-towners as well. Saturday’s headliner will be local synth heroes General Labor, who wowed audiences last summer with a live score to The Adventures of Prince Achmed. The group’s also known for their ’80s synth pop, and Traxler’s not sure which direction the band will go for the festival. “They’ve been really into pushing their sound in more experimental directions,” says Traxler. “I’m excited that they’re playing Memphis Concrète to showcase some of the new things they’re working on.”
One local act making their debut will be Stupid Lepton, whose music Traxler describes as “ambient and abstract and modular stuff. He does a lot with biometrics and he’ll have a plant with him on stage, hooked up with some wires and controlling the music.” Another Memphis group, W1ND0W, will bring some Sophocles to Sunday’s proceedings. “Because it’s Father’s Day, they’ll have a bunch of actors perform parts of Oedipus Rex, with microphones running through a vocoder.”
The grand finale will be a pet project of Traxler’s, though he’s not playing in it. Rather, the hour of “electroacoustic performance” will pair guest solo performers on acoustic instruments with electronic backing tracks, in a throwback to electronic music’s earliest days. “These are pieces that mix written scores with electronics. Two of them are classics from the ’60s and ’70s, with two newer composers for the other two,” says Traxler. The composer Milton Babbitt is familiar to many synthesizer fans, though his piece Philomel, which will showcase soprano Rebekah Alexander, is more obscure. The other compositions showcase clarinet, alto saxophone, and flute. Staging this segment of Memphis Concrète will be a dream come true for Traxler: “I’m super excited about this one.”
Visit memphisconcretemusic.com for details.
