Femmecult attended the 11th annual Decibel Festival of Electronic Music, Visual Art, and New Media in Seattle, Washington. Here is our review of selected performers including Steffi, Midnight Magic, JusMoni and many more.

Singer and composer, Jennifer Touch has a unique sound that really stands out in the saturated world of electronica. Drawing from electropop and disco influences that came decades before her, she does a great job of reinventing them with a rare essence that leaves the listener wanting more. The kind of music that sticks in your head long after listening is characteristic of her style that could work on the dancefloor and off.

UK based electronic music artist, Plum (Shona Maguire) is an electro-pop producer and multi-instrumentalist celebrating the release of her fourth album, Besty Thunder. It’s received high praise online and off and we were happy to catch up with her and chat about everything from her incorporation of field recordings into her songs to her fascination with the sound of earthquakes.

Olivia Louvel of Catwerk Imprint presents her lastest release, Doll Divider at Earsthetic, a festival merging visual art, new electronic music and experimental soundscapes. Featuring also cult electrorock artist Peaches (14 Dec), Japanese visual artist Ryoji Ikeda’s immersive art project datamatics [ver 2.0] (13 Dec), awardwinning composer and visual artist Mira Calix (10 Dec), Brighton based experimental music collective Spirit of Gravity (11 Dec), visual artist and musician Planningtorock (12 Dec).

Portland based electronic music artist, NeveroddoreveN (Heather Tucker) is early in her career as a solo artist but already turning quite a few heads with her original work and live show. Her work can be classified as dark wave and synth pop, drawing inspiration from notable industrial and postpunk synth bands of the 80s among others. She is a talented and expressive vocalist and her live performances are known to feature live video projections and dancers as well. Femmecult got a chance to pick her brain on her creative process and that gnawing feeling one gets when creativity becomes stagnant. Femmecult: Where are you from? NeveroddoreveN: I was born in a tiny town in Texas near the border of Louisiana. But I grew up in Houston, TX from the age of 2. Femmecult: What is your musical background? How did you get started? NeveroddoreveN: I am not formally trained. I’ve had no schooling in music. I was mostly a vocalist up until about 2 years ago. After being in a handful of bands from the age of about 22 I decided to go it alone. I find that working with others can be a lot like being in a relationship. You like someone more than they like you or vice versa. I was either looking for a way out of whatever band or completely heartbroken when whatever project didn’t work out. Not that I’m against collaborating now but it’s so much easier to answer to yourself with artistic endeavors. Also, I’ve never been less stage shy than when it was just me…..representing what I want to make…..from start to finish. Believing in it more. Standing by it, you know? Femmecult: Please comment on your musical style. NeveroddoreveN: Downtempo dark synth? Electronic droneloop sample? I...

I recently discovered this amazing artist, Emika, who has released a full length on Ninja Tune in 2011. She samples her voice to create instrumentation that accompany her ingenious electronic compositions. Her compositions are well thought out, and seemingly non genre specific. Emika is a song writer’s songwriter; each track offers a unique atmosphere that navigates a range of moods.  Some songs are dance music and some are more ambient, but all are exceptionally interesting. Her substantive lyrical content adds to the intrigue, alluding to political issues and showing the world she’s got something to say. Here is a video interview she did with Minimum Wastage on her LP and philosophy on music. Watch Emika Interview Listen to Emika here...