write-up for the capitol hill block party An ebullient dynamo in Seattle¹s underground scene, Childs combines organizational zeal (see her involvement with Decibel, Plasmodium internet radio, and the fab Krakt monthly) with phenomenal mixing skills and excellent selections as a popular tech-house/downtempo DJ. You could say she¹s the queen of Seattle¹s electronic-music infrastructure, though you might get slapped for it. XLR8R not about me, per se, but a mention in xlr8r is good enough for me... for now, anyway :) EVEN LOUDER In its second year, Seattle¹s Decibel Festival pumps up the jams. Seattle, Washington¹s weekend-long Decibel Festival just turned two years old on September 22, but already it boasted an impressive roster of boundary-pushing techno artistsAkufen, Thomas Fehlmann, Fennesz, Lusine and Tim Heckeron par with the line-ups of established festival giants like Mutek and DEMF/Fuse:In. For Portland DJs Derek Fisher and The Perfect Cyn, DB highlights included an Ableton Live clinic, Deadbeat¹s deep and dubby live set at Neumo¹s, spinning at the Barca DJ Lounge and Saturday¹s searing afterhours party Krakt, where they raged Œtil 5 a.m. to ³seriously warped minimal techno² from Tim Xavier & Camea, plus local favorites Jerry Abstract, Kris Moon and Kristina Childs. Tanya Lutman, who helped coordinate the festival, was blown away by M3rck¹s Thursday night showcase at Chop Suey, where Machinedrum served up ³enthralling tripped-out hip-hop² and Proem chilled things out. Elsewhere, Fennesz wowed audiences at the Broadway Theatre by combining lush atmospherics with self-made visuals, and those still awake by Sunday were treated to panels (Relationships Between Art and Technology, Mastering For Vinyl) and showcases featuring Aeroc, Tipper, Isolée and Pan American. Clearly a must for techno heads of the West, Decibel is quickly on its way to becoming a yearly destination for fans of intricate electronic sounds. Tyra Bangs (with reporting by Cynthia Valenti, Derek Fisher and Tanya Lutman) |
Talk Talk Rachel Shimp Seattle Weekly: As a DJ, you spin downtempo weekly at Fremont's ToST and Gaspare's in Phinney Ridge, but how's your Krakt techno monthly going? Kristina Childs: We're in our second month at Re-bar, and previously we'd built up a great crowd at Jai Thai. I'd say it's the only night of its kind in town. We don't stick to one style‹we're going to bring minimal techno DJs all the way through the hard stuff, Detroit, German, tech-house. As long as it has that same dirty, gritty tech energy, it fits. Seattle Weekly: Is the lack of female participation I seem to notice in the scene really how it is? Kristina Childs: I don't think it's equal anywhere, but it's not so out of whack. There's a lot of female DJs in this town: Chloe, Eva, the Motorbooty crew, Miss Funk, Emily Song, Tamara, Brandy Westmore, Miss Kick, the HitGirl collective, Misha. . . . Seattle Weekly: Given that, it's surprising that you're the only one on the performer roster for the Decibel Festival. Kristina Childs: I'm DJ'ing the electro-pop showcase because they need someone to play '80s, electro, and synth-pop between sets, although Camea, Misha, and the Perfect Cyn are also DJ'ing in the Decibel DJ Lounge. Decibel focuses on live performers more than DJs, so the question shouldn't be "Why don't girls play Decibel?" The question should be "Why aren't girls making music?" I can count the female producers in the world on two hands; of those, not many are making techno, and that's mostly Decibel's focus. Seattle Weekly: Why do you think more women aren't making music? Kristina Childs: Technophobia. Production and audio engineering are very technical areas, and you don't see many females there. It's kind of depressing, but I think it's going to change as more start to do it. It'll be easier for their friends, who've always been interested but maybe a little scared, to hang out and do stuff together. Learn by proxy. Seattle Weekly: I've seen Web sites where women help each other figure out what gear or programs they need. It's awesome, but it's a huge commitment buying and learning to use that stuff. Kristina Childs: It is. There's a pretty steep learning curve, and it's different from picking up a guitar. You cue, you've got to understand how waveforms work, MIDI, how your speakers work so you get the right mix. Then you get into sound design, which is an entirely different thing. There's just so many aspects to learn. I'm a science major, and I've always been challenged and intrigued by technical stuff. Seattle Weekly: What would you like to see change in Seattle's techno scene? Kristina Childs: People supporting it more. A lot of people say they like and listen to techno, but just don't come out. We promote, put up fliers, post to lists, and [the result is] often disheartening. There were under 500 people at the Richie Hawtin show. Richie fucking Hawtin! |