Gold Panda’s Atmospheric Sound Fills The Fonda Theatre

Los Angeles – Wandering into the Gold Panda performance, I was met with the final songs of Slow Magic’s set. Donning a multicolored fluorescently lit tribal mask the DJ/producer stood triumphantly behind electronic drum pads as he beat them senseless. The jumpy glo-fi performer has that gimmicky vibe in that he wears a mask and politely declines anytime he is asked for his name by the media, but the show he puts on is the complete opposite of dull.

I mention this because when taking in electronica performances it is less about the “performance,” per se, and more about the quality of the light show, how it syncs up with the deafening sound system, and the kinds of pills you happened to throw into yourself beforehand. When it’s all said and done though the knob twisting, EQ tweaking nature of anyone’s favorite EDM hero is rather boring when you compare it a moonwalking Michael Jackson or a coprophagic G.G. Allin.

Gold Panda is just another button-pushing man, but as his sweeping atmospheric tapestries bounce off the ceiling of the room, his audience sways in ecstasy nonetheless – no pun intended. The Berlin-based producer is out on tour supporting the recently released, “Half of Where You Live” and tonight he bobs up and down in a way that makes you wonder if he’s going to wake up with a sore back.

The track, “You,” off his debut release, “Lucky Shiner,” is what put Gold Panda on the map and he had some concerns about having lightning strike twice. The result of the new record, however, is a step forward as he realizes it’s more important to stay true to one’s sound and not about making the same thing over and over again.

With the new album written after a lengthy globetrotting journey, Gold Panda managed to artfully craft songs using his travels for some worthy inspiration. The resulting soundscapes serve as markers to experiences and cultures of times past and adds to a growing repertoire of some the more danceable, dreamy tracks of late.

Ultimately, Gold Panda’s set was highlighted by the buzzy, distorted sounds of “Vanilla Minus,” the house-y, barebones nature of “Junk City II,” and the aforementioned “You.” As the room thinned out while the aural manipulations continued toward the end of the 90-minute set I gained a more solid grasp in the art of a knob twist and the sonic value of a drum loop drop. One request: more cowbell.

Photo By Richard Manning

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Ian Joulain

Somewhere between Sublime’s 40oz. to Freedom and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic something clicked inside a young Ian Joulain’s mind. His love for music had taken root and the only way to satiate this newfound passion was mass consumption of any and all genres. While gravitating toward punk rock, hip-hop, and jazz he discovered his distaste for pop-country, but blames that mostly on the excess of tractor and NASCAR mentions in the genre’s lyrics. That said, Joulain has never met a drink that was too stiff or a beach that he didn't like. He hopes to one day hug a koala and would love to ask Greg Ginn why he’s such a dick.