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f you’ve kept your ear to the ground, you
may have noticed there is a lot of talk of
Hawai‘i being on the verge of its very own
renaissance. That despite (or maybe even
perhaps because of) our remote geography, we are seeing a flourishing of art,
music, media and culture unprecedented
in this town’s past. A movement that will
step above and beyond mere localism and
reverberate the world over, finally putting
Honolulu on the map.
A fine notion, and one I wholeheartedly hope comes to fruition. However, it’s
one thing to talk about a renaissance—it’s
quite another to see it actually happen. If
I had to predict the flash point for such
an event, I’d likely center it around the
undeniably powerful POW WOW series.
One look at the ever-more-colorful Kaka‘ako district and it seems obvious that
the writing is on the wall both proverbially and literally.
Yet one event does not a renaissance
make. If we are truly stepping out of shell
of mediocrity, it would stand to reason
there’d be other evidence (thankfully
there’s plenty, but we’ll get to that). For
my part, any revolution (cultural or otherwise) that doesn’t involve dancing isn’t
Cover: Machinedrum hails
from North Carolina but is
based in Brooklyn.
Rene Passet
01 Machinedrum lays down
some live guitar during a
performance.
Elizabeth Cacho
02 Sophisticated beats make
you move your feet.
Rene Passet
03 Machinedrum wants you
to shake that money-maker.
Elizabeth Cacho
04 A drum machine is
kind of like an extension of
Machinedrum.
Shawn Allen
SPELLS presents Machinedrum
Nextdoor
43 N. Hotel St.
Jan. 25, 10pm–2am
$15, 18+
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a revolution I want anything to do with.
So when in doubt I look to a city’s nightlife when I really want to know how sophisticated its denizens are.
For the most part, I am sad to report
that Honolulu has not been internationally known as an ideal place to party.
It’s simply too costly and too difficult to
throw a good event here. Between flying
out the talent and then convincing the
local market that it really is in their best
interest to show up … well, suffice to say
promoters, event organizers and venue
owners do not have it easy in this town.
Despite these obstacles, Ken Selders
has managed to pull off the miraculous and throw a series of events called
SPELLS (see our earlier article on Ken’s
SPELLS project) that challenges both our
notions about what kind of events we
can have here in Hawai’i and, quite purposefully, our ears as well. Whereas most
event organizers simply play to the lowest
common denominator, casting as wide a
net as possible in the hopes to stay afloat.
SPELLS instead presents us with something highly specific, often times lofty in
tone and style.
It’s not a party for everyone, but that’s
exactly what everyone has been hungry
for. Perhaps most importantly, SPELLS
parties are fun. Like a lot of fun. Between
the interesting and engaging crowd, the
well thought out visuals, and ultimately
the interesting and stimulating music, it
all adds up to being as near to a perfect
event as we have in this town.
Now going on to its 10th such event
(Jan. 25 at Nextdoor) we thankfully have
at least one more opportunity to take
part in Mr. Selders’ daring experiment in
sight and sound. True to form, this next
SPELLS will be helmed by Machinedrum,
a North Carolina transplant now fighting
out of Brooklyn. I could talk about how
prolific and talented this guy must be to
have already produced 27 albums at the
age of 27 but I’d rather you just visit his
soundcloud and discover it for yourself
(“Let It” is my favorite):
https://soundcloud.com/machinedrum
His music might not be for everyone.
But like I said, that’s exactly what everyone wants (some people just don’t realize
it yet). By combining new musical formulas with familiar sounds and samples
Machinedrum manages to walk that ever
so thin line between fresh and classic. As
with his other Ninja Tune brethren, you
can always expect high-quality sound
with a sophisticated slant.
So despite what you might think about
Hawai‘i’s future as a cultural powerhouse,
you still won’t want to miss out this January when SPELLS works its magic again—
if for nothing else then just to find out for
yourself if the future has finally arrived
and to say you were there when it did. ■