4.5 Friday (Electronic) Nectar & SolidSound present: LITTLE PEOPLE Marley Carroll Natasha Kmeto $15adv 8pm, 21+ Nectar Lounge 412 N 36th St www.nectarlounge.com LITTLE PEOPLE Website Soundcloud Bandcamp You wouldn’t think that growing up in the Swiss Alps in the 90′s would be the best place to be exposed to some of New York’s best underground hip hop. However anglo-swiss producer Laurent Clerc, AKA Little People, argues he couldn’t have been in a better place. Thanks to the forward thinking programming of Laurent’s local radio station and a DJ with his finger on the pulse of a golden age in the making in New York – Laurent’s musical education in all things hip hopwas of the highest order. An old Mac and a stack of old LPs were mere catalysts for Laurent to try and emulate the sounds from across the pond. A subsequent move to the UK introduced electronica to his broadening taste and influenced his own sound. Then followed work soundtrackingshort films and theater productions which added a cinematic element to his repertoire. Following a disheartening stint doing some production work for a Paris based hip hop label convinced Laurent that he should be doing things on his own terms. A self released EP led to being picked up by Illicit Recordings in London – through which “Mickey Mouse Operation” was eventually released. This was 2006 andhis debut album only made a very modest splash. Over the subsequent years, however, it turned into something of a sleeper ‘hit’ – gathering fervent support in the US and slowly climbing the US iTunes electronic chart in the process. Little people’s sound is part beats, bleeps and snippets of other people’s music. Stemming from hip hop, it effortlessly combines warm synths, intricate melodies and string arrangements. The cinematic quality of his sound led to his music being used on CSI and other shows in the US and UK. Marley Carroll Marley Carroll’s humble origins as a classically-trained pianist and percussionist were shattered after he took top honors at a statewide DJ battle at the prodigious age of 17. The experience catapulted him into notoriety, pitting his skills against DJs twice his age and quickly catalyzed his path towards career musicianship. In the intervening years he has completed a transformation into a dynamic electronic music producer, world-class turntablist and captivating live performer. As a producer, Carroll’s early experiments wove the stuttering precision of mid-era Warp with the gauzy emotional haze of shoegaze, culminating in the well-loved debut LPMelanaster. His follow-up, 2013’sSings, revealed a more rhythmically-driven version of Carroll’s vision, influenced by the galvanic dance floor energy of larger live audiences. A densely-propulsive electronic journey rooted in shadowy forest imagery,Singsreceived universal critical acclaim, drawing praise from tastemakers like Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and Stereogum, and was honored with an album-of-the-week nod at Bandcamp. With his new albumFlight Patterns, Carroll has tuned his instruments skyward and infused his unique style of subtle and compelling dance music with samples and textures from the natural world. Bird songs, field recordings, gongs, deep basses, wooden percussion and plaintive analog synths provide the substrate for expansive instrumental songs with the kind of three-dimensional depth that invites immersive, intentional listening. Released in November 2018,Flight Patternshas already captured the attention of leading outlets like XLR8R, This Song Is Sick, and KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and represents a new high watermark for the veteran producer. Onstage, Carroll brings a more raw and improvisatory adaptation of his music to rapt audiences, combining live sampling, drum pads and looping with stunning and often unorthodox turntable skills. He has shared the stage with similarly-minded peers like Floating Points, Bonobo and DJ Shadow and has appeared at groundbreaking music festivals across the country (Coachella, Decibel, Moogfest). Natasha Kmeto Natasha Kmeto is an electronic producer/vocalist dedicated to the art of emotional engagement. Writing, producing, and performing all her material, Kmeto combines her sensuous voice with a dancefloor ethic, exuding a thoughtful physicality that rewards openness and vulnerability. Stylistically she explores the lines intersected by RnB, soul, and dance music, built using an electronic toolkit developed by years of discipline. She’s most at home when on stage, singing to her fans’ hearts and playing to their bodies. Natasha’s artistic growth has accelerated after years of hard work. She’s at her most self-realized on her latest LP Inevitable, an album that deals with matters of love and a newly affirmed personal outlook. She has increasingly embraced her identity as a queer female, letting it interweave with and inform her talents as a musician. Like anyone undergoing the lifelong process of self-acceptance, Natasha’s growth is expected continue in inventive ways. On her newest single release, she delves deeper into issues of feminism and queerness: “Pour Down” serves as an anthem for empowerment while “Free For Tonight” explores the concept of safe space. Natasha tours nationally out of her home base in Portland, Oregon. Her long list of notable live performances include a 2016 national out supporting Ghostly International artists, Beacon, a 2014 national tour supporting TV On The Radio, gigs atCoachella, Bumbershoot, MusicfestNW, Electric Forrest, Symbiosis, SXSW, Low End Theory, and Decibel Festival. She has shared the stage with anumber of talented artists including Four Tet, Squarepusher, Flying Lotus, Flume, Machinedrum, Dam Funk, Kode 9 andShlohmo. Releases by Natasha have been featured by many acclaimed media outlets including NPR, Pitchfork, Spin, Fader, Resident Advisor and Rookie. Her radio experience includes live performances on Boiler Room and KEXP, and her tracks have been played by numeroustastemaking DJs including the legendary Mary Ann Hobbes.