Electronic production duo Classixx will perform at the Wooly today as part of the group’s tour in support of its latest album, “Faraway Reach,” which was released in June.
“Faraway Reach” is Classixx’s second full-length studio album. The songs on this release are extremely upbeat and fast-paced, encouraging even the tensest listeners to bop their heads.
However, “Faraway Reach” is definitely not your run-of-the-mill pop album. Its tracks are danceable, sure, but beyond that they are densely layered and meticulously produced. Take the album’s first track, “Grecian Summer,” which opens with a lone kick-snare beat that is soon joined by a hypnotic synth hook. The ecstatic keystrokes wander around the left and right channels, giving the track a full-room sound experience — something a listener might notice if he or she were to sit down and pay close attention.
The thing about these songs is they are so pulsing and vibrant that it’s hard not to get lost in a trance when listening to them.
“I’ve always thought we made pop music,” said Michael David, a member of Classixx. “Sure, the foundation is in house music, but Tyler and I have always been fans of pop music and had appreciation of stuff we had heard on the radio. So even though we’ve never made it our aim to get on the radio, we still like to write catchy songs that could have broad appeal.”
This album includes several vocal features from popular artists such as T-Pain, How to Dress Well and Passion Pit. The vocal features on “Faraway Reach” are much more prominent than those on the group’s debut album, “Hanging Gardens.”
The shift in the number of vocal contributors from the first to second album feels reminiscent of legendary sample-based electronic group The Avalanches and the band’s move from a completely sample-based album “Since I Left You” in 2000 to sophomore effort “Wildflower.” The 2016 “Wildflower” album features several guest vocalists and rappers.
“The collaboration list on the album is insane,” Florida DJ Michael Macleod said.
Of course, the two Classixx albums were only released three years apart, while The Avalanches had a whopping 16 years between those two albums. Still, it’s interesting to look at this like a pattern in terms of electronic artists who gained popularity after their debuts.
“We toured a lot throughout those three years, which definitely added to the time between the two albums,” David said, “but we mostly just work slowly; we’re not just trying to churn stuff out. We’re constantly working, but it takes us a while before we feel like something is finished.”
When an electronic act such as Classixx goes on tour, fans are often left wondering whether to expect a DJ set, composed of prerecorded material mixed live on stage, or a “live set,” featuring music created on the spot, normally through a computer software like Ableton.
This upcoming show at the Wooly will be a live set; however, it won’t be the duo tinkering on computer programs the entire time.
“Our live set is very different as far as electronic live sets go,” David said. “We’ll have analogue synthesizers, live guitar, a real vibraphone. It’s important for us when putting on a live show that we have some very ‘live’ elements. I’m not interested in doing an Ableton set; I think I’d rather DJ than do a midi-controller set and call it a ‘live’ set.”
Classixx will be performing with vocalists Alex Frankel and Harriet Brown, both of whom are featured on “Faraway Reach.”
Tickets for the show are available in advance for $15 at thewoolygainesville.com, Hear Again Music and Arrow’s Aim Records, and they are also available on the night of the show for $18. Doors open at 8 p.m.
