E-Mail This Article to a Friend Singing the body electronic The Intransitive Festival of Electronic Music BY ED HAZELL

For the past few years, a loose-knit community of Boston-based improvisers and composers has been making new electronic music with an elusive but identifiable Boston sound. This weekend, the Intransitive Festival of Electronic Music will showcase some of these artists in the first event of its kind in the city.

"It’s always dangerous to generalize, but I think you can point to some things Boston’s experimental electronic musicians tend to share," says festival curator Howard Stelzer, whose Intransitive label was among the first to document the scene’s music. "Certainly there’s an emphasis on deliberateness as opposed to expressiveness. This music in Boston seems to be careful and considered, it uses dynamics in a very considered way. There is maybe more emphasis on a collaborative sound as opposed to taking solos. And there are definitely a lot of people interested in blending acoustic and electronic music. There are common æsthetic ideas, people go to each other’s gigs, they play with one another, it seems like everyone is starting a record label."

This willingness to collaborate has led to some fascinating cross-fertilization of techniques, technologies, and æsthetics. The resulting music consistently tests boundaries and questions assumptions. The musicians use electronic devices from the simple to the sophisticated, from tape loops and "broken" cassette players to the latest digital samplers, and the mix of sounds and approaches makes for a heady brew. There’s an intellectual passion in the music that’s just as bracing, and a quiet excitement in the search for new sounds and new ways to structure ensemble improvisation.

The 15 artists from New England and New York in the festival mirror the characteristics of the busy, if underpublicized, scene. "The nights are a mix of digital and analog, improvised and not improvised," says Stelzer. "On each night, I want every set to complement what comes before or after it, so it makes sense as a whole evening of music. The headliners are all from New England. Brendan Murray headlines the second night because I think he’s one of the most exciting composers working today. Jason Lescalleet has not played any solo sets for a very long time, so it’s special for him to come down and finish off the festival."

Other highlights include the Friday-night duet of cellist Vic Rawlings and bassist Mike Bullock, both of whom augment their instruments with homemade electronics and oscillators. Stelzer himself plays a solo set of cassette-tape improvisations on Saturday. Several special collaborations are scheduled for the afternoons, including a John Hudak/Jason Lescalleet computer-and-tape-loop improvisation using wind-up music boxes as the common sound source and a first-time encounter between lap-top artist Keith Fullerton Whitman and homemade-synthesizer player Jessica Rylan. Boston premieres of New Yorkers include a very rare concert appearance by veteran tape loop composer William Basinski plus digital musician Taylor Deupree, and sound artist Dion Workman.

"The people who are working in Boston are really excited to be here," Stelzer concludes. "There’s a conviction that the music in Boston is something special."

The Intransitive Festival of Electronic Music takes place May 14 through 16 at MassArt’s Tower Auditorium, 621 Huntington Avenue in Boston. (For directions, go to www.massart.edu.) Tickets are $5 for afternoon concerts, $12 for evening concerts; a festival pass is $30. For advance tickets, call Twisted Village at (617-354-6898); for a complete schedule of events, visit www.intransitiverecordings.com