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Ben Webster (l) and Andrew Brown of Exploded Drawing (Courtesy of Exploded Drawing)
Exploded Drawing is back. The convergence of bedroom beatmakers, experimental electronics, hip-hop sound sculptors, and out-of-the-box instrumentalists with an art-warehouse vibe and DIY punk ethics (all ages, low cover, no stage) makes its terrestrial return Friday at its usual Eastside stomping grounds.
The event, which for a dozen years has drawn a crowd as multigenerational as its performers (young upstarts/underground lifers), hasn’t tapped a keg since early 2020, but thrived in the compulsory virtual realms. Where many music curators leaned on livestreams of either scrappy, homespun performances or well-produced attempts at capturing the feeling of concerts, Exploded Drawing collected performances from producers like Black Milk, arted-out the videos in postproduction, and presented nights of stylized sets on YouTube with active live-commenting conversation. Hosts Ben Webster (punk drummer and costumed abstract-electronic performer Butcher Bear) and Andrew Brown (the producer and KUTX radio personality known as Soundfounder) are reticent to admit anything learned via their online events will influence their tried-and-true in-person parties, except one thing:
“We’ve doubled down on the live visuals and it’s a bigger focus,” says Webster, noting that they’ve expanded resources to allow Exploded Drawing chief visualist Orión García to put a trippy touch on the performances. “After 12 years, we can roll back in there and make it fresh – that part of it is going to be really dope.”
Friday’s gathering brings in Dallas electronic/soul/hip-hop singer Mattie, whose acclaimed new Leaving Records-issued EP, Jupiter’s Purse, was co-produced by Black Taffy; Louisiana sample-jazz vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Zetroc; and beat-game veteran DJ Design, known for his Madlib collab, “Sparkdala.”
“DJ Design is someone who I’ve been a fan of since the first Quasimoto record came out,” says Webster. “Last year, my buddy told me he’s living in Round Rock and I just freaked out. So as soon as we knew we were going to throw an event, we hit him up.”
Also on deck: the first local show of Fennec, a recent Indiana-transplant whose tropically grounded March LP a couple of good days earned a four-star review in the Chronicle (plus extensive love in Rolling Stone and Pitchfork); Austin’s Crystal Voyager, whose work ranges from meditative sound baths to squelchy, staticky alien communications; and a collaboration with experimental triad Lyman Hardy, Leila Henley, and Thor Harris – likely involving modular synth, sax, and vibraphone.
“That’s part of the recipe of what keeps Exploded Drawing fun,” Brown says of the latter. “Some beat events are just a bunch of people playing samplers, but at Exploded Drawing, you might have someone playing a flute. Whether it’s accidental or on purpose, we’ve been able to curate a really good crowd of people who are there for whatever’s going to happen – that’s really rare and awesome.”
Exploded Drawing returns on Friday, May 6, with music starting at 10pm. The event is at the Austin Cinemaker Space (2200 Tillery) and is all ages.
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