Give me disco or
give me death

by JACK OATMON

It’s almost election time again, and we all know what that means. The overwhelming interest that the youth of our fair city take in provincial politics will culminate in a glorious amalgam of drinking, disco dance parties and serious, thoughtful consideration of the direction of our communities over the coming electoral term. Yes indeed, nothing gets kids more fired up than democracy, and the election barnburner before us promises to ignite countless dancefloor debates and bouts of bathroom-stall campaign graffiti.

Okay, so my generation’s not necessarily the alpha and omega of the democratic process, but there’s still hope. I can prove to you that we’re at least capable of making a critical decision when it comes down to the things that really matter to us (booze, smut and bass). Check out, for example, the following two sets of unnervingly tough choices.

Kweku and the Movement is an exciting local ensemble whose eclectic parameters encompass the spastic, future-obsessed grooves of groups like Funkadelic and Afrika Bambaataa as readily as they do the fresh, melodic flow of modern R&B vocalists and leftfield hip hop acts like Outkast. In fact, there’s even a touch of contemporary analog electro in there on “The Full ‘Eh’ Show.” They’ll be at les Saints tonight, March 22, along with the Lovely Feathers, another promising element of the show.

The other option tonight, if you’re feeling less Fela Kuti and more Andy Warhol, is to go to Musée Juste Pour Rire for a live set by Germany’s bewildering Digitalism, masters of the distilled, eerie techno build-up and euphoric, celebratory melody of the rave world, only without all the obnoxiously fast tempos and cheesy fashion. I saw them on New Year’s 2006, a particularly wild night, and I give them my personal seal of approval.

Another sticky call will be, strangely enough, Wednesday night, when the last vestiges of the SXSW hangover wave stumbles through town, boasting an appearance by zany, Aussie synth maniacs the Presets, who will both electrify and frighten attendants of Petit Campus alongside Dandi Wind and a DJ set by the discerning Mr. Thomas Von Party.

Alternately, at Club Lambi. there’s the first-ever visit by Swedish invaders Lo-Fi-Fnk, who deftly toe that line between the campy puppy-love of early-’80s British new wave and the despondent, technology-obsessed elements of our current pop-cultural straits, in a vibrant, catchy package.

This would seem to be the time to plug Kitsuné records, a subdivision of a fashion design company in France, seeing as three of those four shows include acts—the Lovely Feathers, Digitalism and Lo-Fi-Fnk—which have appeared, at some time or another, on one of Kitsuné’s releases. All you really need to know is that the label is a sure-fire place to find out about new artists who delve enthusiastically into the hedonistic fancies of the party-music-world without sacrificing wit and moodiness. Find out more on their website, www.kitsune.fr/, which is an idiosyncratically programmed mishmash of data sprinkled with numerous tantalizing musical discoveries.

Citizen Oatmon… jack.oatmon@gmail.com