LOOK UP FEST: UNDERWATER (LUFU)
A SPOOKY AQUATIC MINI MUSIC FEST THAT OCCURRED AT FRED WILDLIFE REFUGE on 3.9.19
Thank you to all attendees, musicians, crew, and volunteers!
Highlight reel from Look Up Fest: Underwater. VHS footage by Trevor Crump.
Photobooth Scans
LOOK UP FEST: UNDERWATER (LUFU)
EVENTBRITE | FACEBOOK
SAT. 3/9/2019 5PM-1AM
ANNOUNCING THE RETURN OF LOOK UP FEST, THE LODGE FOR HIGH STRANGENESS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
featuring 11 local dreamy bands, an aquatic cause, and one creature of the deep…
FRED WILDLIFE REFUGE
128 Belmont Ave E.
Seattle, WA 98122
LUFU PLAYLIST
“A brand-new confab of music, visual art, good beer and strange vibes
”
LINEUP
SHT GHST
SHT GHST creates a new kind of post synth rock referred to as "underwater psych". The sound is heavy on reverb, wah-wah filters, and features a huge synth sound provided by Erik Blood (Shabazz Palaces). Blood has a big sound, that really takes the experimental ideas and concepts to a new level. The vocal effects that SHT GHST uses are unlike any other. The osculating cry's are created with vibrato and reverb. It is truly something new and unique, a new color for the world to see. Full Press Kit can be found here: http://www.shitghost.com/presskit/ From KEXP: "2: Photos of Bread builds off the ambition of his previous work, finding inspiration in the ocean, far off galaxies, and the human condition from the perspective of an urgent, curious being trying to make sense of it all."
MOON DARLING
Moon Darling. There are those bands who recall an older time and place, a moment in history when music was more about saying something of substance than it was about counting the number of streams. Seattle psych rockers Moon Darling cling to this ideology, creating a bluesy sound that harkens back to that classic ’70s rock howl. By channeling the influence of bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple (with a little bit of weirdness thrown in for good measure), the band builds a kaleidoscopic version of those artists that remains relevant and reverent among all the gaudy imitations littering the modern musical landscape.
ANTONIONI
Antonioni began in 2016 when longtime Seattle solo artist, Sarah Pasillas, recruited band members to flesh out and record several songs she had written for her next album. Their new EP, The Odds Were All Beating Me, a polished and more expansive effort - was released in January 2019 on Den Tapes. The Odds Were All Beating Me was recorded with Rick Hoag (Lonely Mountain Lovers) and mastered by Levi Seitz (Jenn Champion, Pearl Jam, Sloucher). Inspired by sci-fi literature, surrealist films, and her own personal mythology, the EP consists of five songs, finding vocalist Sarah Pasillas carefully examining the internal peaks and valleys of coping with anxiety and uncertainty. The Odds Were All Beating Me incorporates bits of 90's guitar-driven alternative, Eno-esque new wave, and smooth dreampop into eclectic and layered Northwest indie -pop/rock.
PEYOTE UGLY
An ectodelic synth-psych threesome from Seattle. With a name like Peyote Ugly, there’s no shortage of imagery that comes to mind. The synth-psych trio lives up to the hype of their moniker. The band has spent the last couple years in Seattle’s dives and playing a wealth of shows as they fine-tuned the songs that would eventually become the Peyote Ugly EP. The result is a collection of songs that feel like a rare cool breeze waving through the barren desert. Not really “ugly”, but you can feel notes of spacey peyote in the mix.
SHIMMERTRAPS
Shimmertraps is a five-piece band that blends indie rock, psych, and dream pop music into their own sound. Based in Bellingham, WA, the band was started as a recording project by Zack Moses and Kyle Menne in 2016. Paying equal attention to both music and imagery, they bring together a combination of eclectic sounds and pleasing visuals.
PERFECT FAMILIES
Perfect Families is the project of brothers and lifelong collaborators Micah Smith and Joel Stanton. Their blend of groove-forward indie-pop elements and charismatic guitar hooks give way to a unique, yet familiar sound that has evolved with each record. The band originated in Chicago, but relocated to the lush musical soils of Seattle after their first release, Save Time. Their sophomore full-length (Perfect Families) was succeeded by the more soulful sounds of Gradients, which gave way to playlist placements, college radio and KEXP rotation, as well as a West Coast tour in 2017. Over the course of three albums, Perfect Families has stayed true to their do-it-yourself approach, with Micah heading up all recording, mixing and production efforts.
SEALIFE
Sealife brings love-coated psychedelic pop from Seattle straight to your heart. Their sonic storytelling paints a landscape of vulnerable lullabies. Originating from bedroom pop and stream-of-consciousness songwriting, Sealife pulls from Sade, Steely Dan, and The Smiths to craft lush sonic dreams. With a nod to Seattle grunge, Sealife is no stranger to fuzz or esoteric lyrics. Brennan Moring, lead for Sealife, also sings and plays keys for Seattle psych poppers Peyote Ugly. Brennan began writing poetry and playing guitar at an early age, but after learning piano, he began a conquest for total instrumental control in his songwriting and storytelling. Now, with Sealife, he’s writing love songs from the perspective of the ghost that quietly waits up for you at night.
STAROVER BLUE
The nostalgic tones of a Juno 106 combine with ambient layers, sparkling guitars, and airy, bittersweet vocals to define Portland experimental dream pop band Starover Blue. Founding members Kendall Sallay and Dirk Milotz began their musical partnership in 2007 in the San Jose State University music department. Live, the four-piece pulls from a multi-faceted discography, appealing to fans of acts such as Wye Oak, Cocteau Twins, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, The Joy Formidable, Low Roar, and The Antlers. "Kendall Sallay-Milotz‘s mystical and fairy falsetto is indeed reminescent of Elizabeth Fraser‘s [Cocteau Twins] idiosyncratic vocals. Swaying between dream pop, electronica and ambient music, the ethereal textures are both comforting and wistful." -HighClouds
HOTELS
Hotels lives in pop’s dark corners, with post-punk roots giving way to flower petals of psych, jazz noir, electro, and surf. On 2016’s “Night Showers”, vibraphone, trumpet, violin, and cello joined the band’s traditional driving rhythms and dreamscape guitars, adding to an already unique brand of movie soundtrack-esque pop–picture the lush acoustic arrangements of Stereolab or Sufjan Stevens filtered through the darkness of David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks”. The band’s currently-in-production effort, “Great Soups”, will be a return to synth-drenched form, but with a twist: powerhouse vocalist Adra Boo has joined the group, ushering in a new era–and new level–of vocal interplay with bassist/lead singer Blake Madden, as well as the birth of a band that breathes fire live.
DARKSOFT
With guitar driven hooks, crystalline vocal melodies, and powerful songwriting, Darksoft will haunt your very digital mainframe. Evoking a nostalgia for 90s sadcore, Darksoft uses a haunting yet soothing vocal style and shoegazer guitar crunch. Darksoft finds inspiration in the encrypted, hidden motives that infect modern society, love, and communication. Bill Darksoft, from Seattle, leads the Darksoft project. He runs Look Up Records, studied creative writing at UW, and has played with many Seattle acts over the years.
JUPITER SPRITES
The music of Jupiter Sprites hovers through the air like an enigma. Their sound is a unique mosaic that is at once artistic, boldly experimental, graceful, and accessible. Drawing from melodic soundscapes of the 90’s shoegaze movement and the polyrhythmic textures of modern electronic music, the band formed in Olympia, WA – a city steeped in musical history. With a history of collaboration since childhood, friends Max Keena (vocals/guitar) and Mike Elliott (drums) joined Alicia Capp (vocals/synth) in 2014, and later gained sister Portia Capp (bass/harmonies) to form what is quickly becoming one of the most original and striking bands in the Pacific Northwest.
BLAZINSPACE
Blazinspace is a local VJ that creates great live visuals, music videos, and stories. At Look Up Fest: Underwater he’ll set things ablaze with underwater light experiences, submerging our visual senses into the watery depths with stunning floor-to-ceiling projections.
WILLIS FADER
Willis Fader is your friend. He’s here to help you have a better soundtrack while engaging in life’s various activities. Yes. That’s right. Just chill. Think. Feel. Focus. Converse. Share moments with friends and loved ones. Let the sensuous beds of Willis Fader audioscapes enmesh your world. At LUFU, Willis Fader will create liquid soundscapes between sets.
PARTNERS
DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUP COALITION
For this event, we will be raise donations for Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG, a cause dedicated to addressing the impact of urban development on our local environment. To help support, donate to our raffle, which will feature awesome merch from all bands involved!
PACIFIC NORTHWEIRD
Pacific NorthWEIRD is a web series chronicling everything strange, supernatural, and eccentric about the Pacific Northwest! At LUFU, they will share some startling physical evidence and eye witness testimony surrounding the existence of the LUFU, the kelp monster said to lurk Seattle waterways.
LIMINAL SEATTLE
The Society for Liminal Cartography, Seattle Chapter, aka Liminal Seattle provides a map of the strange, wonderful, and unexpected. At LUFU, they will be sharing some aquatic lore, offering a booth to share your own spooky cryptid occurrences. This is their 2nd Look Up Fest!
About the LUFU
Birthed from a sludge of human pollution in the Duwamish River, the LUFU is a cryptid said to lurk Seattle waterways. Emerged as half waste byproduct with vengeance, LUFU lurks the lakes, sounds, and waterways of the Seattle area. With all seeing red eyes, the everpresent LUFU resides in the deep watery darkness, reaching up to grab the feet of swimmers from below. Their seaweed fingers reach for miles, like veins, ready to pull you down underwater… At Look Up Fest: Underwater, LUFU made a surprise appearance.
