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MICHAEL GOETHE
| T wasn't until recently that Alfredo Lapuz, Jr. emerged
\\ H from relative Athens obscurity into the frenzied hysteria
\-i of media blog aggregators, where he is better known to
RSS-junkies as Immuzikation. And while the democratization
of such blog-mongering is debatable, it remains one of the few
passive environments where the listening public can voice their
opinions en masse. It seems the people have spoken, and the
word is Immuzikation.
Up to this point, Lapuz's career has been a carefully played
poker hand where the forces of preparation have led the way
for serendipity to determine the outcome. After a chance series
of gigs performing with Athens' Bling the Children Back Home
in the unlikely city of Jacksonville, FL, Lapuz and fellow band-
mates from Velveteen Pink were encouraged to set their sights
towards Athens, GA, where they would inevitably increase their
fanbase. Formed in 2005 in Gainesville, FL, the group's Prince-
meets-Morning Star synth-pop would become the most suitable
outlet for Lapuz to develop his synthetic palette. Since its
inception, the band has becbme the focal point of his musical
concentration, where Lapuz and bandmates would resurrect
their keytars to begin working tirelessly on their unreleased
LP, recorded between various locations including John Keane's
renowned studio in Athens. As part of AthFest, Velveteen Pink's
next appearance will be on Friday, June 20 at the Georgia
Theatre between sets by Elf Power and Contraband, followed by
a show on June 21 at 283 Bar.
Enter Immuzikation. Part programmer and part musician,
Lapuz has evolved to channel his art through loop-based
software over time, but insists that his ear is better than his
software's algorithm. A pianist since the age of five, it's only
natural to assume that any form of digital manipulation would
be subsidiary to each track's sense of harmonic structure for
Lapuz—a fact that might easily be overlooked in explanation
of his ravenous viral reviews. For Lapuz, the art lies in dismiss
ing the software's ability to dictate the final product, but never
the other way around. "I half-ass nothing when it comes to
music," Lapuz insists. Similar in style to liber-chic electro-funk
duo, Chromeo, and as whimsical as Japanese sample wizard
Cornelius (both of whom have been sources of sample mate
rial), Immuzikation has discovered his niche through inven
tive pop mash-ups, sampling an eclectic range of artists from
Weezer, M.I.A., Feist and MGMT, to Boyz II Men. Contrary to
the method of vinyl purists, opting-out of the weightier and
time-consuming method of record collecting has afforded Lapuz
a great deal of versatility, especially when balancing multiple
projects. Lapuz admits unapologetically that his extensive MP3
collection gives him the mobility and flexibility required to
work freely within the digital platform.
Never concerned with spreading himself too thin,
Immuzikation will perform a series of Saturday nights at 283
Bar through the end of June, promising to deliver multiple sets
of genre-defying electro-pop euphoria to local audiences before
all the hype lands him in an inevitably larger pond.
Ryan Monahan
(
WHO: Immuzikation
WHERE: 283 Bar
A
WHEN: Saturdays in June
HOW MUCH: FREE!
•
V
J
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