Producer’s Showcase
Gabe’s — Saturday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ($5)
Hey electronic music fans! Are you tired of the constant dubstep in this town? Want something new and different and strange for your ears? Some of Iowa City and Chicago’s electronic wizards are playing a Producer’s Showcase this Saturday at Gabe’s, and there’s going to be something for everyone. The show boasts a mind-bendin’ modular synth set by Phosphenes, a booty-shakin’ DJ set by Chicago’s m50, and plenty of artists in between — all for a mere $5.
One of the promoters for the event, Jake Hopes, says the idea for a Producer Showcase began when his co-worker at Record Collector, local promoter and busy-body Zoey Miller, started putting on shows at Gabe’s.
“She asked me for some help finding artists, and I knew of a few,” Hopes said. “Most of them were electronic artists who were not only my friends, but extremely talented…and make really interesting, original stuff, which is great because there isn’t much of an outlet for electronic music outside of dubstep and EDM in Iowa City.”
Although some of the artists are more on the difficult side (Iowa City’s Giant Question Mark, a collaboration between Alex Body and Joe Heuermann are as fun as they are heady), those who just want to hit up the dance floor should still have a good time.
“The best thing about it is you can still dance to this kind of music,” Hopes said. “It makes your brain shake its booty, too.”
Following a successful show in February, Saturday’s event marks the second Producer’s Showcase organized by Hopes and Miller. Although February’s show had an encouraging turn-out, it was the audience’s reaction to the slightly left-field artists that Hopes found particularly inspiring.
“It really is nice when people have a good time and actively go out of their way to tell me or the artists how much they enjoyed their set,” he said. “For example, at the first showcase, I saw a guy push past a crowd of people to get to Gold Piece, one of the acts, to tell him that he loved his stuff.”
Hopes hosts a show on KRUI called Community Infrared, every Wednesday 8-10 p.m. This Wednesday, he’ll be offering free tickets to the showcase and playing an exclusive mix from m50.
