Show Review: Secret Attraction, CD Ghost, Soft Vein @ Rubycon Records & Tapes in Los Angeles CA.

Show Review:

Secret Attraction, CD Ghost, Soft Vein

@ Rubycon Records & Tapes in Los Angeles CA.

When it comes to my current record label project, Dream Recordings, I take a decidedly and avowedly hands off approach to the creative side of the project- picking the artists, interacting with the artists, etc.  That is because if you look at the unmitigated  economic disaster that is the history of independent record labels it is quite clear the faculty for selecting artists and that for running a record label as a business only rarely reside in the same person.  It was clear to me- long before this project- that my main faculty would be running an independent record label as a succesful and ethical business, which meant that either I was that one in a million person who could do both OR I would have to rely on partners for the creative side.  That doesn't mean that I'm culturally unsophisticated or some kind of barbarian, only that I choose not to make MY taste the criterion for whether an artist is worth releasing or not.

I went to Rubycon Records and Tapes in Los Angeles, CA. on Saturday night to see the latest signee to Dream Recordings, Secret Attraction, from Phoenix.  I try not to listen to bands before I see them- it's been next to impossible over the past three years of course- and also, if a band is part of my label, I try not to listen to much to their prior recordings, first, because it's not really my business if my partner think's the artist is a good bet, and second, you can't really judge the value of a particular artist on your label until you actually hear the recordings that you yourself will be releasing. 

My initial impression of the venue- Rubycon Records and Tapes was very positive.  I've been following the owner's content on social media (mostly instagram) and I identified with his quest to force-feed the music of his taste the greater Los Angeles record and tape shopping community since we have similar tastes- his being finely tuned and exquisite, mine mostly limited to the music of the bands I put out, their influences and whatever pops up on my post-punk spotify genre mix.   The venue had light drinks available- beer and coffee.  Tickets were 20 dollars and the show was sold out.  

The sound and lights were both the best for any record store show I've ever attended. I was expecting some variation on the standard record store show vibe- awkward standing around etc, but instead this was a show-show DJ Malvada was Djing when I arrived- her pre-band set was itself revelatory, particularly with the sound system.  I'm actually planning to just go see her DJ around town because she seems really active (she had 3 shows that night) because she was that good- it was all EBM/Industrial dance type stuff, which I like but am utterly unfamiliar with because, well, I know nothing about it.

The opening band was Soft Vein- from Sacramento. Two guys with one singing/playing guitar/synths and a guy in the back doing more synths and what I presume are triggers.   The crowd was completely into it for an opening act, which, in all my days of going to indie/diy shows, is practically unheard of.  Back when I went to shows more frequently, I always believed that you could just the strength of a specific scene by the intensity of response to an opening act in front of the first 50 crowd members, and by that standard, this particular scene (LA dance goth let's call it) is ready to blow.  I hope so anyway, because that is what Dream Recordings is betting on heavy.  I texted my partner during the set and it turns out this band had already enquired about working with Dream last year, so I was like, "Yeah!"  Bought his t-shirt- anyway, they were great and readers should def. check out his next LA area show in March where he's opening for some weirdo who never plays or does social media- more on that show next month.

The second band- CD Ghost- came highly recommended by my partner, Mario- they have a record label so there was no professional interest there but I wanted to see them- really to see any live show of a band these days is interesting to me after the past three years.  CD Ghost had a heavy synth vibe and none of the harder EBM sounds of Soft Vein.  Layers of synths and a distinctive vocal. Crowd response was again fantastic.  The live show didn't seem as developed as that of Soft Vein and Secret Attraction but you can hardly blame an indie band for that these days.  Would again recommend seeing this band the next time they make it through LA.

Last band, Secret Attraction- signed them to Dream Recordings late last year.  The way it works is that Mario describes the attributes of the band- so it goes with out saying that he thinks the music is outstanding and then we talk about the overall profile of the artist and various risks involved.  I had remembered that Secret Attraction sounded like a slam dunk to me so I was looking forward to the live show.   The perform as a two piece, with Derek singing playing up front and then a woman in back playing synths and hitting triggers etc.  The live show was great- crowd loved it. heavy synth vibes and actual song structures etc.   Very very much looking forward to hearing the completed record after this show and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of synth forward music- starting from Manchester/New Order up through Phoenix and whatever "vapor-wave" was or was not- but his strengths are the songwriting, the song structure and the charisma of the live performance itself, so I'm thinking that Secret Attraction has all the tools to go far, especially now that live shows are back.

Great show! Great scene! Really vibrant and I feel like it will be breaking out for more mainstream attention (yikes I'm sure) once people get going this spring and paying attention again to subcultural rumblings from the underground.  Secret Attraction and CD Ghost are playing New York... next month?  That is a must for NYCers.  Don't sleep on either band.