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.