In a peaceful and remote mountain town, expressive artists will gather for a day of avant-garde jams.
The Idyllwild Experimental Music Fest will return for a third year on Saturday, June 27. Hosted at Audiowild Studios, the event is an all-day showcase of musicians offering boundary-breaking live sets filled with unconventional tunes. This year’s lineup features synthesizer-structure-slashing from Spotlight Floodlight, computer-coded chords from LeggLake, atmospheric ambience from Invisible Dog, and much more.
During a recent interview with festival organizer Pete Majors, he discussed his background in experimental music.
“I’ve played experimental music and was very much a part of that underground scene in Los Angeles for well over 20 years when I lived there,” Majors said. “After moving to Idyllwild, there was a real disconnect for a while from the music scene. (I was) not necessarily physically that far away, but it just seemed a little bit isolated in the sense of what actually happens up here, musically and artistically.”
Majors wanted to host a small show that focused on noise music, a subgenre of experimental music that builds songs out of harsh static, feedback or other “unwanted” noise.
“The idea was that I wanted to do something up here that was almost a selfish thing,” Majors said. “… After meeting Brian (Parnell, owner of Audiowild Studios)—who is such a cool guy and just a well-rounded musical person—the venue seemed right for something like this. After being a little bit disillusioned from having a band after I moved up here, putting out a record, and having that kind of fall apart, I was looking to do something. I started inviting people to do this thing up here, and I was kind of blown away how many people just said yes.”
For the first two years, Majors used personal connections to build the lineup.
“I would actually say that I was friends with every artist who performed,” Majors said. “Most of it was drawing from the L.A. scene. … Everyone was just excited to come up here. For a lot of people coming up here, they’re like, ‘It’s magic up here.’ It’s very inspiring in that way. It’s not cheap to stay the night up here or to drive here, but a lot of people who do this kind of music … they’re not doing it for monetary reasons. I think having a lot of friends the first couple of years helped cement it. Now I do have a little bit of a following for it, which is kind of fun.”
The Idyllwild Experimental Music Fest offers a stark contrast to most musical offerings in Idyllwild.
“There is a good music scene up here, kind of a tight scene that all revolves around the same venues, a lot of which are restaurants,” Majors said. “You play Middle Ridge Winery, or you play Cafe Aroma, or Taryn’s Place, and it’s the same acts playing all these places all the time—and they’re good. A lot of it is more conventional, straightforward rock, or stripped-down singer/songwriter stuff that makes it easier to perform at these various venues for a lot of tourists and things like that.”
Majors said he hopes the event exposes people to new styles of music.
“I do like the idea that I’m doing something that is very unique and different for this town musically,” he said. “A lot of people don’t even understand what experimental music is, which I can totally get, because it is such a broad kind of genre when you’re thinking of involving ambient to noise to free jazz. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes this year, for sure.”
Not everyone will be a fan of the boundary-breaking ways in which experimental musicians shout, scream and showcase sounds—but Majors invites the trepidation, while adding that it’s different to experience the music live than it is to listen to a recording.
“It’s so much more visceral to watch something happen,” he said. “… Everything’s a little bit different. There might be something that really is off-putting for you. It could be power electronics (a subgenre focusing on abrasive screeching sounds) that punches you in the face, but then the next thing is something that blows your mind, and you’re like, ‘Wow, I don’t even know what I call this, but I like it.’”
Majors discussed some of the most unique sets from last year’s fest.
“A friend of mine, Samur Khouja, who goes under the name Conscious Summary, performed a full quadraphonic set, and was setting up the speakers all around the room to trigger the way he wanted them to be,” Majors said. “It was very immersive and amazing. That was such a concept that I think people weren’t really expecting. Also, Oort Smog … is a drum and sax duo, kind of like prog free jazz. I think that really grabbed everyone last year. That came out of nowhere, where everyone was like, ‘Wow, that guy is processing saxophone through pedals and just locking in with the drummer.’”
This year’s lineup features legends in the experimental-music space.
“I’m really excited that John Wiese is performing,” Majors said. “He’s a powerhouse of noise, and has been playing for probably about 30 years at this point. I’ve known John for a long time. I was really excited that he accepted the invitation to play, because he actually now is in Cleveland. I wouldn’t even know what he’s going to do. It’s going to be in the noise realm, and electronic, but just knowing his body of work, I’m really excited to see what he pulls out for the fest.
“Trigger Object from Portland has just been getting more notoriety over the years, to the point where I didn’t know her, and then I got turned on to her work. We have all these mutual friends, so it started to be this weird connection right away. She does a really disjointed noisy electronic thing.”
Majors said the music is difficult to accurately describe.
“A lot of performers don’t do the same thing every time,” he said. “If you heard a recording from them, an album from them, you’re not necessarily going to get that regurgitated in a live set. Every time, it’s going to be a little bit unique.”
Majors said the main idea behind the Idyllwild Experimental Music Fest is that “music is for everyone.”
“The business of music to me, for the 25 years I worked in music retail, kind of corrupts things,” Majors said. “The idea that anyone can make music, and that art is for everyone, is what this fest is about. Everyone can do it; everyone can enjoy it. Let’s just support the arts outside of this giant industry that mostly just exploits the arts.”
The Idyllwild Experimental Music Fest will take place at 3 p.m., Saturday, June 27, at Audiowild Studios, 54240 Ridgeview Drive, in Idyllwild-Pine Cove. Tickets are $20 online, and $25 at the door. For tickets and more information, visit www.instagram.com/idyllwildexperimentalmusicfest or audiowild.studio.
