Progtronica, solo progressive live electronic music from drummer/producer Nigel Sifantus

Filling a void in today’s multi sub-genre music world, the sound of Progtronica is as the name evokes: music that borrows from the sound of the diverse genre’s of “electronica” with a healthy influence of progressive “math-rock” all produced and performed live by one man. The driving force behind the sound is the all original drum breaks created from scratch by Sifantus, which are then sampled, re-organized, processed, and blended with driving bass, atmospheric sounds, and melodic textures. One of the most prominent features of Progtronica is it’s non-reliance on the 4/4 time that dominates almost all of today’s electronic music while still emphasizing heavily danceable beats.

The debut solo release from Sifantus “Progtronica – Live for No one” is a brand new approach to a “live” album. The musical technique can be described as an almost reverse production method using Ableton Live software and a minimal amount of hardware. The beginning of the production process is not atypical, layering tracks of sounds and rhythms into a song form. They are then however totally deconstructed, and “live re-mixed” in such a way that the song’s character is the same, but the form is totally improvised using multiple methods to manipulate the drums on the spot, and mixing the textures, sound effects, and time signatures in a way that is without limits.

Each song on “Live for No One” is created in one take top to bottom, thus making it “Live” though the music sounds like it has endless levels of post production. Via the Soundcloud player above, you can temporarily listen to and download the raw, un-mastered versions of all the tracks until the time of the album’s release.

In his weekly “Progtronica DJ Series” Sifantus takes things a step further, playing all the music from “Live for No One” in a seamless set along with other original works in a time-limitless DJ style “mash-up”. What results is a totally nimble one man show, with endlessly complex musical possibilities ready to rock any venue, from dance hall to internet broadcast.

All solo, All Original, All Live….Progtronica

Background on Progtronica

Originating in the rock and roll based enclave that is the Boston area, I was inspired by the organic nature of the role the drum set played as an instrument in providing the most acoustic and seemingly “human” element to a sound that was becoming more and more synthesized. This synthification only become more prevalent as the 80’s became the 90’s and the dominant beat of music became that of the drum machine/sampler/sequencer. My initial instinct was to fight against it, after all most synthesized drums were usually the choice of a producer looking to cut costs therefore putting out a “product” that was more cost effective and the public not only did not know the difference (according to the corporate profit based record companies), but began to become acclimated to this robotic sound.

Other interesting art forms emerged however using the new technology not as a substitute, but a new avenue for creativity. Thus spawned the revolution of club based dance music (drum n’ bass and the like) as well as more abstract alternative Hip-hop.

What became clear to me is there was no way to replace the basic human element of a person playing rhythms with his/her own sense of time, but the possibilities of electronic sounds, samplers, and sequencers offered a new feeling and sound for the future. The real potential lies in the push and pull of bringing these two elements together, something that still to this day few have truly explored. Therefore it has been my creative goal in the time since to play with this relationship between the organic and synthetic when it comes to rhythm. I strive to run the gamut of loose organic timbre, to rigid robotic soundscapes, all the while blurring how it is being done.