W iggle combine the hard, harsh beats of The Chemical Brothers with the noisy exuberance of The Boredoms and an occasional female vocal that sounds like Shonen Knife on speed. Bravely straddling the accessible and the arty, they would be worth going to see for the music alone.
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But the way they create it is just as intriguing. Wiggle is perhaps a first: a band that produces its music in cyberspace. Its four members -- from America, Australia and Japan -- met via the experimental art and music Web site Unsound (organized by member Gil K.) in the late '90s. Since then, they've used the Internet the way other bands might use a practice studio and adopted animated characters as their face.
This makes their upcoming performance at Unsound Night particularly special -- except for the absence of their Australian member, Wiggle will be performing together live, even eschewing sampled rhythms for a flesh-and-blood drummer. Consistent with Unsound's fusion of sound and vision, expect an adventurous light and video show from VJ Ikunishi, a regular contributor to both The Boredoms' and L'Arc~en~Ciel's live performances.
The other artists on the bill are equally eccentric. DJ Sueme (aka Phil Wells), half of the duo Subhead, is best known for using answering machine messages as the basis for his surprising take on techno. On a night that promises to be loud and unconventional anyway, EC804, part of the Digital Hardcore stable of bands, might vie for the title of loudest and proudest. Its stated intention is "to be as loud as one can and to destroy daily fascism," so check conformity at the door and bring earplugs.
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