Electronic bands illuminate the Nectar (Photos)

The Seshen at The Nectar Lounge (Photo by Hanna Stevens)

The Nectar Lounge buzzed and flowed with the smooth melodies and bright rhythmic grooves of three live electronic bands on Wednesday, August 13: Gems, Theoretics, and The Seshen.

Gems, a live electronic Seattle quartet, opened. Two drummers held down the beats and two keyboard/synth players carried the tones and melodies.

Theoretics were a perfect bridge between Gems and The Seshen. This band seems to re-create itself constantly through fresh local collaborations, while retaining their electro/jazz riff-based sound, including synths and saxophone. The 5-piece band was joined by two guest artists, one being Moe Betta, who has performed with them often. They released a new collaboration, “Funk Break,” in July, the first track in their One-A-Month project. The second is a collaboration with Grynch and Afrok called “Sunsets,” which was released this month.

The Seshen, a seven-piece Bay Area band, is an audiovisual fusion of experimentation across genres. Their electro/psychedelic hip-hop vibes are perfectly reflected in their music video for “2000 Seasons.” Songs were grounded in electronic beats and built up by the live band. “Oblivion,” an especially strong track on the band’s 2012 self-titled debut, lost not a bit of its galactic magic in the live performance. Vocalists Lalin St. Juste and Akasha Orr performed with natural vibrance and energy that carried seamlessly throughout the band. Their poetry and harmonies were deeply entwined through complexities and weighted words.

These characteristics translated in person throughout the night, as well. The Seshen is a group of artists who seem to reflect a genuine band-family spirit. That spirit is essential to endure and triumph through inevitable mishaps. Later that night their van was broken into, forcing them to cancel two of their three remaining shows of their tour. Stolen gear included a bass amp, drum gear, effects pedals, microphones, and cables.

The band did return to San Francisco for their show at the Brick and Mortar two days later.

The Seshen signed to UK label Tru Thoughts last February and will be releasing their second record in the near future.