Seattle Subsonic

This Beat Is A Connection

September 7th, 2010

On a recent sojourn to Sweden, I didn’t listen to very much music. I decided it was time to unplug, forget about the internet and the daily grind for awhile, enjoy the world and soak in some Scandinavia. I caught up on books and sleep and museums. And yes, I’ll admit that music is part of that daily “grind”, despite how much I love it. Scouring blogs and music sites and listening constantly are activities I pursue freely and by extension not things I feel compelled to complain about. However, I do feel the need to ignore once in awhile. Brains need a break, from whatever it is that occupies them.

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But, of course, I wasn’t able to completely ignore my digital music player. With two 10-hour plane rides, a few multi-hour train rides, and hotel rooms with no music source to speak of, 100% abstinence would’ve been foolish, if not downright inconceivable. Without question, the source I immediately went to in an indulgent moment of weakness was Surf Noir, a two-month old EP from local electro-jammers Beat Connection. The duo is Jordan Koplowitz and Reed Juenger, a couple of UW students who’ve crafted one of the better electronic releases this year, hands down. You’ve probably heard “In The Water”, “Sunburn” or “Silver Screen” on KEXP, if you’re into the radio thing. If you enjoyed Seek Magic from Memory Tapes, Settings from Tanlines or In Ghost Colours by Cut Copy, chances are high that you will dig on Surf Noir as well.

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Consider “In The Water”, an ebullient dance cut that shimmers and shimmies with crystalline  guitar stabs, a chopped up reggaeton beat, bleached vocals and an 8-bit bass line. A flock of seagulls welcomes you to its beachy scene, and a solar-powered synth explosion bridges the gap. I am seriously addicted. Also consider “Theme From Yours Truly” a sultry South Beach neu-disco techno tune. The first half is woozy and anticipatory, the second half is high-wattage sex-rave. That escalation at 2:27 is a thing of beauty, the beat tantalizing until it’s upon you, a pure connection. DAMN, a shadow repeats. SO CRAZY, a sexy voice echoes. It might remind me slightly of J Lo’s “Waiting For Tonight”—I’M SAYING THAT’S A GOOD THING. Beat Connection’s composition, of course, has a depth and complexity that that song lacks (in addition to the stunted singing career of una diva latina). The remainder of the tracks are worth checking out as well, especially “Sunburn” and “Silver Screen”.

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Thanks to the band (and Bandcamp), you can download the whole EP for zero dollars. I’ve embedded the player below, so you can sample it first. I can’t recommend this enough.
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Beat Connection plays at the Vera Project with Magic Kids and Candy Claws Thursday, September 9th.