Fresno Famous

Just so no one gets confused, electro does not equal pulsating bass — the “boom-tch, boom-tch” that marks the international sound of generic techno and raves.

“The first thing that people come up with is, ‘Do you mean techno?' ” says Cameron Lee, a guy who's big on electro and keeps himself busy on websites like Hype Machine and Chemical Jump.

Just so no one gets confused, electro does not equal pulsating bass — the “boom-tch, boom-tch” that marks the international sound of generic techno and raves.

“The first thing that people come up with is, ‘Do you mean techno?' ” says Cameron Lee, a guy who's big on electro and keeps himself busy on websites like Hype Machine and Chemical Jump.

That the question even comes up is the reason Lee, along with friends Matt Clausen and David Blizzard started the Fresno Electro Movement.

The guys have taken it on themselves to serve as emissaries of sorts, promoting local DJs, venues and shows. They hosted their own event at the Million Elephant II on Wednesday and are already spreading the word about Unity — an all-ages DJ sampler from the guys who put on Circa — July 23 at the Starline.

The guys want to see electro become a mainstream culture in the Central Valley.

Which, again, begs the question.
What is eclectro, exactly?

“It's anything that's made electronically,” Lee says, which only confuses things slightly.

The FEM boys break it down in beats per minute. “House is 120 to 140. Everything above that is techno,” Lee says.
Then they all three laugh. It's an inside joke for electro junkies.

Seriously, electro encapsulates a large umbrella of styles that includes techno, house and trance. Of course, these days, it reaches across genres into stuff like electro-pop — Dan Black played Fresno in June — and electro-indie bands like Passion Pit.

If you keep you're ears open, you've problem heard electro music somewhere. In fact, a lot of popular hip-hop take samples from electro music. “Touch It” by Busta Rhymes contains a sample from Daft Punk's “Technologic.” Kanye West sampled the group's “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”
“I could go on and on,” Lee says.

So, there's a fan base out there for this kind of music. Only, people have been brainwashed. That's what Top 40 radio does to you, they say.

The FEM is a re-programing, then.

It's working to create an electro scene that is large and vital. They'd like to see Fresno become a viable stop for electro bands who are playing in Los Angeles and San Francisco. To do that, they have to see crowds, and big ones, out for every show.
That's why they're “spreading the gospel.”

Already, things look good for it. Dan Black's show at the Starline in June was packed, Clausen says. "A lot of people who didn't know that scene came out." The group Designer Drugs is playing Frank's Place Sept. 3, and the FEM expect that show to be big.

And there's rumors of rumors that Fresno might see Flying Lotus (who Lee points out is the nephew of John Coltrane). The guys bring this up and there is laughter and hushed tones, and almost immediately they take it back because it's just so much wishful thinking. Still, it would be, like, the wildest thing ever.

And there will still be questions about electro.
Like, “how do you dance to this?” Seriously, they've been asked by friends.

The answer is, you don't. This is anti-dance music. You don't move to it. It moves you, Blizzard says.
“It's a feeling. The mood of it makes you want to dance.”