This week @ KILLSWITCH: C.L.A.W.S (Tigerbeat6), Safety Scissors (Proptronix) & David Siska (Sonic Sunset)

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About C.L.A.W.S.:

After moving to Berlin in 2004 with his coldwave band „Vanishing,“ C.L.A.W.S. was quickly sucked into djing and patronizing the unique after-hour scene that exists there, where monday morning became his saturday night and peak time sounds were replaced by swirly synths and stripped down ryhthm. Upon returning to San Francisco in 2006, he began throwing an after hour warehouse party called „Gentlemans Techno“ and producing tracks in a wide array of styles. Currently he is releasing records as „C.L.A.W.S.“ and „War Vs. Sleep“ on labels such as Tigerbeat 6 and Bar 25, and has a forthcoming Ep on Rekids in early 2009. He also plays drums in a band called „Bronze“ and always enjoys a good sandwich.

About Safety Scissors:

A picture of his then-present girlfriend adorned with gag-store glasses, brandishing a pair of children's scissors, this token of good luck followed Mr. Matthew Patterson Curry everywhere when he started DJing. Cutting his teeth as a weekly resident of San Francisco's Static club - and Surrounded by the likes of Kit Clayton, Sutekh, Twerk, Kid 606, and Matmos - MPC was provided with musical support and inspiration for first forays into production. Under his Safety Scissors moniker his first records were logically lumped into what was referred to, at least by German patrons, as "SF Laptop Techno". Like most artists in the trendy "clicks and cuts" scene, his music embellished recording errors and digital detritus. But beyond celebrating the errors of computers, MPC also treasured the errors and mishaps in his everyday life.

Being a proud art-school dropout, he had some experience amplifying such things as deflating balloons and melting ice and so putting such follies into musical form seemed only natural. With some of his first recordings he dared adding his own rawness into the music as his own untrained vocals exposed a human-ness at a time when other computer musicians were trying to hide theirs. In May of 2000 at the very first Mutek Festival, Safety Scissors bashfully debuted his singing and electronic music in a live context. The dimly-lit dub-tinged techno pop was culled into Plug Research album Parts Water, which received wads of international praise.

Subsequent worldwide touring and invitations to well respected festivals soon followed. Lending his talents for numerous remixes of artists in all shapes in sizes (including the flattering remix request for Sketch Show featuring two members of Yellow Magic Orchestra) Berlin became a new home for the gregarious musician. Seeking an outlet for danceable funny stuff he founded the Proptronix label in 2001, and after acclaimed releases of My Robot Friend and the Pigeon Funk project, he distanced himself from his "dub house techno drivel" past and solidified a trademark sound dubbed by XLR8R as "dorkcore".

But it wasn't until a move back to San Francisco at the end of 2003 that MPC was able to focus on finishing the nearly completed songs on Tainted Lunch, his second full-length album. Always seeking to mix obscure new influences and inspirations (The Shaggs, Joe Meek, Emil Richards, Franco Battiato, Les Paul, Raymond Scott) along with the more familiar (Yello, Talking Heads, New Order and the more comtemporary Magnetic Fields) Tainted Lunch features a more refined approach to his angular pop attempts. His non-singer singing is more present and the structures echo radio friendly tunes as he enlists musical help from friends Kevin Blechdom, Francoise Cactus, and Erlend Øye. At the moment MPC is driven to further his knowledge of tap dancing and he also has a cat named Napkin who plays fetch.

About Dave Siska:

David Siska has been selecting electronic dance music for Chicago's airwaves, loft parties, and clubs for over a decade. In the past several years he's become known in global circles as co-host of the Chicago-based Sonic Sunset radio program, an acclaimed show dedicated to connecting eras and blurring lines between genres in electronic music. After residencies at some of Chicago's most respected venues, David has moved on to San Francisco, where he's focusing on starting his label - Remnant - to showcase texturally evocative electronic compositions from established and emerging artists.