Derek Rickert
Electronic music production is a notoriously solitary exercise, requiring countless hours alone at a computer, tweaking, manipulating and perfecting. Thanks to sites like SoundCloud, though, all those hermetic producers have never been more connected. It’s easier than ever for producers to share and spread their music; even the most obscure artist can easily rake up thousands of plays and hundreds of shares if a track happens to catch the right ear.
Milwaukee producer Strehlow understands this as well as anybody. He knows how intoxicating it can be watching SoundCloud play counts tick ever upward, wondering if they’ll hit that tipping point where they compound exponentially. But he also knows it can be a trap, too. He learned that about a year ago when the blustery hip-hop tracks he was producing, some of which he compiled on his Nesha EP, happened to meet the EDM scene’s current appetite for rowdy rap fusions.
“The beginning of 2014 was so exciting; so many cool things were happening,” Strehlow recalls. “Numbers were climbing like crazy, and I think that’s because the music I was putting out was a little heavier. But then I realized, ‘This isn’t what I love.’ I wanted to make music I could drive around to late at night and think, ‘This is awesome.’ It’s weird, because I feel like we’re at the point where one really good song, or a hit from anybody in our crew, is all it’s going to take to bring a lot of attention to the whole crew. All it takes is a hit. But it’s like, at the same time, I want that hit to be mine. I don’t want it to be a hit that people like just because it happens to be loud.”
That aforementioned crew is Noh Life, a collective of about a dozen Milwaukee producers, artists and friends who share ideas, shows, living spaces and a SoundCloud page. Their output is as diverse as you’d expect from a collective their size, covering an array of sounds and styles, but they primarily work in the lane that Strehlow enjoys most these days, producing mostly mellow, thoughtful electronic music that employs volume as an accent, not a default.
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“It’s not this dude electronic EDM garbage,” Strehlow says. “It’s melodic. It’s got feeling; it’s got a sound to it. It’s not just empty headed. I think a lot of people who like this style of music are intellectual listeners. They’re not just the rowdy college crowd, and I think that makes it cool. You might not get as many fans with this style, but the fans you do get are so cool and supportive.”
That vibe, Strehlow says, carries over to Noh Life’s regular showcase at Bad Genie the first Friday of each month, which they position as a more laidback alternative to the crowded, pricey club shows that consume the EDM scene.
“I’ll be honest: There have been times where I’ve had shows and I didn’t even want to invite my family, just because I didn’t want them to have to go out to some club and deal with a bunch of kids and drunk fools,” Strehlow says. “So it’s really cool to have an outlet that’s just super casual, a place where you can come out to hear some interesting electronic music that you’ve never heard before without feeling pressured or weird. Bad Genie is one of my favorite places to play, and we’re lucky to have a super regular crowd. We often see new faces there who will ask all kinds of questions like, ‘Are you from around here?’ And they’re interested in us because we’re not just getting trashed and DJing and throwing shit at the crowd. It’s classier than that. It’s not an uptight bar, and it’s not the rave scene, either. It’s a place where regular people feel welcome.”
Noh Life’s next night at Bad Genie is Friday, Feb. 6.
