Watch out for robots

Two venues, two stages, 20 acts: Here’s what to know about Asheville’s first electronic music summit.

Breakbeat livetronica group Pnuma trio plays Tron-A-Thon on Friday night.

• The lineup is stellar. If you missed Eliot Lipp on his recent trip to town, or on his recent tour with Sound Tribe Sector 9, you can catch him here before he heads out to tour with Philly-by-way-of-Asheville act Telepath. Also, hear the break-beat dancehop Pnuma Trio, up-and-comers Freepeoples Frequency (featuring members of SeePeoples), underground faves DJ Rootz and DJ Ginza, Chicago-based Future Rock (headed to bigtime music festival Rothbury this summer) and more.
• How did organizers gather the groups? Tron-A-Thon is put together by three different regional promoters: Coma Gun Music, Trinumeral Productions and GlitterGlu Productions—making for a crisp mix of talent.
• Look for the Bob Moog Foundation and its theremin stations. People can play the theremins and Moog synthesizers; remix music through Moogerfoogers (signal processing pedals); and download the remixes to their iPods and MP3 players.
• The ubiquitous Asheville-based Ishmael will be live-painting and Code E will be creating live graphics.
• The details: Tron-A-Thon will be Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at Club Nashwa and Hookah Joe’s. “It’s the perfect dynamic,” says Joel Stout of Coma Gun Music, explaining that the two venues are in the same building. “People can go back and forth and not miss a thing.”

Fresh from his Peace Love Weed 3D release, DJ Eliot Lipp plays Saturday night.

• Tron-A-Thon shows that the local electronic music scene is officially burgeoning. “There’s a culture of individuals who are very passionate about this type of music, a kind of new age electronic culture,” Stout says. He credits groups like the Disco Biscuits and STS9 for creating a following—and that following is extending to new acts. “I think there’s a shared consciousness that goes with it as well … passionate views on taking care of the earth, being conscious of each other’s growth, forming bonds. It’s a new age.”
• Tickets are $20 per night. More info and full schedule at www.tronathon.com and www.myspace.com/tronathon.

who: Tron-A-Thon
what: Electronic music summit featuring 20 acts
where: Club Nashwa and Hookah Joe’s
when: Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11 ($20. Doors at 7 p.m., Shows from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. www.tronathon.com)

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