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Future Rock - Friday 04.24.2009 Mickey Kellerman and Felix Moreno utilize a myriad of synthesizers, electronics, and instruments to compose and arrange their instrumental music. The audience can rarely identify the origin of each sound. "I love that look of confusion... when the audience sees me play my bass and they have no idea what's coming out," says Moreno. Drummer Darren Heitz finishes FR's sound by blending acoustic and electronic drum timbres with live sampling/looping run through his synthesizers. Kellerman explains, "We manage to pull off our live show while keeping pre-recorded samples to a minimum. Ninety-nine percent of our live show is live." This concept is at the core of Future Rock: technology has progressed so that real-time sampling and electronic synthesis can now occur on-stage. "Its really important to not get to geeky with our music. People want to hear songs with melodies or grooves they can dance to. Its a question of utilizing the new technology with the old song structure so that kids can rock out the same way, but to new sounds," Heitz adds. I suppose it is not uncommon for a band to be a product of their environment, but Shout Out Out Out Out is certainly a group as rich in paradox and contrast as the 780 area code. Edmonton is about as remote an outpost of a major city as you'll find anywhere in Canada, yet close to a million people choose to live there. Why would anyone choose to live there? Why would anyone choose to base a band there? Maybe it's because it takes a band like Shout Out Out Out Out to embrace their surroundings and use these harsh realities as motivation to actually do something, and to realize that if you're going to try to do something in Edmonton, there is no point in doing it halfway. And so it goes, Shout Out Out Out Out emerged from the frozen north as an all-rhythm section, high-kicking, collection of local rock stalwarts, diving headfirst into the world of electronic music. A formidable force and a live spectacle from the get-go, with two drummers, four bass players, and an entirely appropriate mountain of analog synthesizers. Like in every band's not-so-secret dream, local support grew to national buzz, national acclaim grew to international buzz, and the upward momentum just keeps pushing on. Through it all, Shout Out Out Out Out have maintained the juxtaposition involved in being an Edmonton band. Sure, this is dance music and really, it's a damn good time. Lyrically though, darker themes are explored, connecting those who listen closely enough to decipher the vocoded laments (we're talking Kraftwerk here, not T-Pain) with themes of disillusionment, debt, and inner struggle. Not unlike making the best of living in a geographically isolated permafrost city, Shout Out Out Out Out use dance music to help themselves and their listeners lighten the load of a heavier existence. Shout Out Out Out Out is: Nik Kozub, Jason Troock, Lyle Bell, Will Zimmerman, Clint Frazier, and gravy. learn more about Shout out out out out Orchard Lounge is a collective of DJs that formed in Chicago around 2000. The trio of Ben Silver, Spencer Lokken, and Bethany Lokken, focus on performing for the more discerning of dance floors, and are commonly known to appeal to open-minded and diverse audiences. They've never let their passion for the beat confine them to a single genre, as their sets may include anything from laid back downtempo/IDM to hypnotic tech house and b-boy era electro. Don't be surprised if you hear an entire night of music dedicated to the sounds that have heavily influenced them as DJs either: they all share an affinity for classic hip hop, rock, funk, and soul, as well. This is the reasoning behind "OL: From the Dance Floor to the Couch". It's the appropriate defining phrase for the group because of their innate programming and record selection skills, as well as their talents in creating an experience for most any state of mind or environment. Some may label this as being versatile, however the three simply consider themselves serious music lovers with similar, albeit eclectic, interests. At the very core, they're highly enthusiastic individuals full of praise for the producers whose names appear on their records. To that end, they've always fully understood their role as middle(wo)man, and if they are to accept the coveted role of tastemaker, they want it to soley benefit the artists whom they all admire.
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