By MATT HANSEN // Synthwave musician known for his sci-fi inspired sound will play a DJ set at rescheduled date
If you’ve never seen your favorite electronic musician do a DJ set, it’s refreshing to discover what they’ll come up in lieu of their own material. Having a quick hand and a polyrhythmic ear are two things required to be a good DJ – and two boastful things that can really dazzle an audience. Showing off impressive mixing skills can be a way for already lauded electronic musicians to go back to basics, while making vanity celebrity DJs look embarrassing. When the move to DJing is done with real finesse, it’s an invitation to rediscover a musician’s hidden talent, as they deftly and seamlessly create new works from varying songs elements – sometimes straight out of leftfield.
One act whose style goes hand-in-glove with any mix is Com Truise (Seth Haley). Haley’s past shows in Portland have attracted not only fans of retro synth, but also your skilled dancer types ready to cut loose to his futuristic bassy sounds. His catalog of remixes is a decade of varied artists, each of them bearing his unmistakable imprint of the microgenre he helped to create: “mid-fi synth-wave, slow-motion funk.” But if you do attend, keep your Shazam pocketed, or to your horror you might realize the track you’re most moved by is actually a Maroon 5 song, which Haley has transformed in some new ingenious way. But don’t worry, none of this has to leave the venue, just enjoy it while you’re there.
Com Truise may have been prevented from playing last October, due to Hurricane Ian. But it's a new year and a new chance for Haley to make amends. And with Portland's own Nightrider 87 now added to the bill, there's no better ticket if you're craving electronic nostalgia in the year 2023.
ON TOUR: Com Truise at The Get Down on Friday, January 6th, 2023. Doors 8:00PM / Show 9:00PM. Tickets. 21+ show.