Tussle is an instrumental quartet exploring dub, house, Afrobeat and krautrock with a nod toward British experimental music of the 1980s.
The quartet is experimental, but this is not just music to soak in while contemplating an art installation. You should find yourself moving to the danceable, polyrhythmic and sometimes tribal beats.
The two founders, Nathan Burazer and Jonathan Holland, met while busing together to a visual arts high school in North Carolina. They still do graphic art work in addition to their music.
Ten years ago, Burazer and Holland traded in the cheap rents of North Carolina for the excitement of San Francisco’s Mission District, where they remain based. Of late, they have played and recorded with Trans Am and Hot Chip.
The band will have plenty of vinyl available at the show and online.
***
RC: When did you first get into electronic music?
NB: Early on, I was more into industrial music – bands like Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Jesus and Mary Chain, Skinny Puppy and Aphex Twin. I was 15 or 16 when I got my first drum machine.
RC: Why did you pursue more than visual art?
NB: I found the community of musicians to be very interesting and encouraging of each other – a real supportive community. I have always had room for both, though. Me and Jonathan graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute, me in painting and digital media and he in painting. My day job is in interactive design and Flash animation. I still draw and paint as well.
RC: Did you really once play in an abandoned house?
NB: It was actually the Greensboro house we lived in. Instead of a living room, we put together a homemade drum kit and had instruments everywhere. We’d just hang out and play – not to record or write songs, but for the pure pleasure of music making.
RC: Is your live show dance-oriented?
NB: I don’t want to say it is because I don’t want to raise expectations, but people tend to dance. We don’t limit it to dance music because we like to let songs unravel. Our songs kind of self-destruct and then are reborn in a way, morphing into something new.
RC: Any favorite moments for the band this year?
NB: We got to play in the Natural Hist Museum in L.A. alongside the elephants, buffalo and antelope. Also, playing with Hot Chip was fantastic. We got to know them – they are really nice dudes. We danced and played Frisbee in parking lots before shows.
***
Tussle with Pleeseasaur, Cold Bear Scout and Macro Meltdown
Bluebird, 2706 Olive St.
8 pm, $8/$11, all ages