An ever-evolving Emancipator takes the TLA stage

Emancipator | Photo by Matthew Shaver | brightloud.com

Emancipator releases the kind of downtempo electronic music you would probably expect if someone where to tell you it was downtempo electronic music from Portland, Oregon.

Not that it’s a bad thing, far from it. Taking the kind of inorganic-meets-organic flourishes that artists like Tycho and Bonobo have helped cultivate enough that it’s moved from basement shows to selling out mid-level venues, and spinning it with a little woodsy flair. What has a definitive start/stop on album, suddenly becomes an ever-evolving presence on stage at the TLA on Friday night, with no definitive lines, and an almost (dare I say it) Phish-like jam band quality.

Mostly instrumental, with folksy vibes, sometimes punctuated by break beat drums, laptop glitches, and on a few songs, sultry vocals. This is the kind of thing your either in to or your not, and though the fans may try to sell it like NASCAR (“You have to actually go to a show to understand”), it’s hard not to at least become a little lost in it all. I love live electronic shows, even the ones where it’s just the kid and his laptop, and am more than happy to have watched it grow over the past decade in to something that can be relished and remembered, as Emancipator should be.

Also on the bill is Wax Tailor, a person who has been on my list for quite sometime, but isn’t large enough in the States to warrant multiple expensive trips, so this show was a rarity. A nice DJ set with some fantastic turntablism showcasing various trip-hop styles. He should resonate not just with the crowds that name drop Massive Attack and Portishead at parties, but for the folks that still have Esthero and Sneaker Pimp albums saved to their digital playlists for morning commutes. He promised a return in 2016 with a full band, and I for one couldn’t be more excited.

This was also my second outing with Yppah, after a solid set opening for Little People last year. He upped the ante a bit, adding a guitar to the simplistic setup. Sure there is not much to watch, but I don’t really see Yppah to watch him, but to hear him on a gigantic sound system with about a dozen other people that just wanted to close their eyes and sway. It’s a shame, the venue had to be near capacity at the end of the night, but only a dedicated few got to listen to the most sonically magical portion of it.