Blevin Blectum

Blevin Blectum -- nee Bevin Kelley -- rose to prominence as part of Blectum From Blechdom, a duo with Kevin Blechdom (aka Kristen Erickson). After meeting onstage at a Mills College performance in 1998, Blectum and Blechdom went on to form one of the Bay Area's most distinctive electronic acts, fusing groovebox jams with abstract, laptop-based composition and a love for cultural phenomena. The four-armed, four-legged jumpsuit the duo wore in performance obscured the pair's internal rifts, though; after taking Ars Electronica's prestigious Golden Nica award for electronic music in early 2001, the two split. Later that year, the pair reunited for a series of performances based on their shared obsession with multimedia heavyweights the Olsen Twins. While Blechdom moved to Florida recently, Blectum -- who by day works in sound design for interactive toy companies -- continues to perform in Sagan, a group that also includes techno tweaker J Lesser and video artist Ryan Junell, as well as release solo recordings. Blectum's Talon Slalom, released this year on Seattle's Deluxe Records, starts with tinny, ring-modulated beats and then layers on a deluge of shredded electronic sounds made from ultra-bright chords, samples of half-forgotten pop music, and waves of white noise. Despite Blectum From Blechdom's ironic propensity for cheekiness and preteen icons, Blevin Blectum's work is anything but cutesy: It's densely difficult, funky as hell, and more fun than a food fight in FAO Schwarz.

-- sf weekly music awards 2002