[diggrz: an SVW tag for arts, culture, trends, and events in and around Silicon Valley- new from SVW] -

By Sara Kremer for Silicon Valley Watcher

At the Decibel festival in Seattle last weekend a more musically sophisticated crowd sat to a gamut of electronic beats. The mood was academic, partial to experimental, ambient, and techno sub-genres, and featured the most cutting edge producers.

This festival was like a wine tasting party for the finest of wine makers.

Decibel brought out a host of international talent, made up largely of artists performing original live sets (as opposed to pre-recorded DJ sets) with live video projections as a visual accompaniment. Musical producers, artists, and avid electronic music aficionados formed an appreciative crowd for over 100 performances and showcases, including mind-numbing sets by Apparat, Deru, Murcof,Ryoichi Kurokawa, and the long-time techno legend Speedy J

I was insanely impressed by the amount of innovative sonic explorations I experienced featuring new audio interfaces, sounds, and performance techniques. Creatively and musically inspired, I was ready to rush home to SF and start creating fresh laptop music of my own.

This unique and visionary festival is in its third year, draws over 6,000 attendees, and was well worth the treck from the Bay Area. Decibel promises to pump out more amazing lineups in the years to come.