DJs at WKPS-FM (90.7), think it's time for Penn State to get electronic.
Members of RPM, the station's nightly electronic music show, have planned a show as a benefit for the station featuring live artists and DJs beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Tall Shiva Hookah Lounge, 224 W. College Ave. The show will feature live performances by Chez, Secret Agent Gel and Volta Kindred.
RPM programming director Justin Olexy, also host of psycho-active supper from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, said although the station has received the funding it asked for from the University Park Allocation Committee, it still needs money for extra software and station upkeep. He said that when planning the event, he and the rest of the group wanted to be sure to stay with the theme of their radio show: not-so-conventional electronic music.
"This kind of music isn't something you see a lot locally. It's around more in big cities," Olexy said. "All three of the live acts are local, and mostly stay away from your standard house or club music."
Olexy said that along with helping plan the event, he is also in Volta Kindred.
He said the group's performance is a combination of pre-sequenced music and live instrumentation.
He said world music and abstract electronic music have heavily influenced him, and that his incorporation of ethnic instruments, such as the didgeridoo, into the music of Volta Kindred makes it unique from the idea that most people have about electronic music.
"[Electronic music is] more diverse than people think," Olexy said. "All of the acts playing on Saturday are electronic-based, but they are also influenced by many other genres."
Corey Maass, who performs as Secret Agent Gel, is a promoter who recently moved to the area from New York, and he has been looking to get the area involved with electronic music since his arrival.
"This was Sc'Eric [Horner]'s idea," Maass said. "I wanted to start doing shows in the area, and the station is always hurting for money, so it made sense for us to incorporate those two things together for an event."
Maass said he started playing in bands and messing around with four-track recorders through high school. Then, through a college class he took in 1996, he realized he could use a computer to compose music.
"A lot of the stuff I like is about mixing genres," Maass said. "My influences come mostly from bedroom producers who post their tracks on the Internet. There is so much amazing music that these guys are creating, but none of it ever gets published because it wouldn't make any money, although there is definitely underground interest for that kind of stuff."
Maass said electronic music has become more prevalent in mainstream society than people think, with more and more pop stars using entirely electronic tracks to sing over, and more and more commercials using the songs in the background.
Sc'Eric Horner, a 1994 Penn State graduate and an RPM DJ, said he had been interested in the RPM department at The Lion for some time, and when a slot opened up, he got the opportunity to do his own show.
As soon as The Lion's funding was cut, Horner said he knew there was something he could do to help contribute.
"It became clear to me that we had the opportunity to do something that we should be doing more as a student-run radio station, and that is to promote locally produced events," Horner said. "And if we can put some on ourselves, then why not do it for the station and the community as well?"
Maass said even though electronic music isn't as popular in America as it is in Europe, some young Americans have started rocking their computers instead of their guitars.
"Anyone with a laptop can rock some beats," said Maass. "It's becoming more common to see live artists performing this kind of music live with laptops and other technology, little by little, and I'm optimistic that it's something people will enjoy and become more aware of in the future."
