Those who venture into Kerckhoff Coffee House on Tuesday nights
will find the familiar study spot transformed into a venue for
experimental music.
Each Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. throughout the quarter, the
Cultural Affairs Commission puts on Acouselectronic ““ a two
-part program consisting of an hour of acoustic music by
singer-songwriter Daniel Au followed by an hour of electronica when
Au’s bandmates Dan Riley and Tenzin Wangchuk join him on the
stage.
With music playing from the coffee shop’s speakers
throughout the day, it seems only natural that students should take
advantage of the environment to create a setting for live
music.
The performers are here to have a good time and gain playing
experience, so everything is laid back about the show ““ from
the 20-minute late start to the relaxed way Au is dressed in a
T-shirt and seated barefoot with his guitar.
“I think the live music adds to the ambiance,”
economics graduate student Jimmy Lee said. “I like the fact
that they’re amateurs. It was pretty casual, and it’s
cool that it’s not too crowded.”
Au took the stage and played a set of five songs with relaxed
bossa nova strumming while he crooned about his distaste for the
materialism and corruption of our corporate-run society. He sounds
a little bit like Jack Johnson but is far more political in
content. His program is catered to college students who are
interested in hearing the work of independent singer- songwriters
as opposed to the mainstream music that dominates the radio.
While the electronic portion of the program got off to a rough
start, as the instrumentalists and the computer weren’t quite
matching up, a second take helped better blend the live music with
the computer sounds, and the musicians complemented each other
rather than struggling to take the lead.
As the entire portion of the electronica show was improvised,
transitions in tempo were at times tricky. But when the band got
everything matched up, the music was interesting and people could
easily groove to it.
“It’s a little experimental,” Au said.
“I don’t know how many people here are in tune with
experimental electronica. I never know how people are going to take
it.”
And although the random assortment of students with their books
and dinners sprawled out before them on the coffee shop tables
certainly make for an unlikely concert crowd, the audience became
increasingly enthusiastic as the night progressed.
Acouselectronic began last spring quarter when Au was looking
for an opportunity to share his songwriting with others and
encourage students to get involved in independent college music.
With two hours to fill, he proposed adding an electronica group
composed of his friends Riley and Wangchuk to make up the latter
part of the performance.
The students who show up to hear the musicians each week are
eager for variety, and most enjoy the performances that mix in
different genres. Au and his band try to bring in guest artists as
often as they can, and a frequent addition to the lineup is jazz
guitarist Isaac Darche.
“I think it’s pretty cool how they’re mixing
in different sounds,” fourth-year biology student Myriam
Boutary said. “I wish I didn’t have to study, and I
could just sit here and enjoy the concert. I wish they would mix it
up, and it would be nice to see different acts. Then I think more
people would come to study (here). Now, it just draws the same
people.”
Between having an opportunity to listen to live music and
support student musicians and being able to hear music more thought
provoking and experimental than what is heard on the radio every
day, Acouselectronic is a tasty treat to take in along with a
latte.
Acouselectronic can be accessed at www.calendar.ucla.edu,
and Daniel Au’s music can be heard on
http://buzzguy.shroom.com.