Written By : Maxamillion Polo, UCLA Radio DJ
Photos By: Jimmy Bazzy, UCLA Radio Alumni
July 27, 2016
PC Music is a UK based record label headed by A.G. Cook, one of the collective’s most prominent producers. The label has managed to quickly gain a strong and passionate following, thriving mostly amongst online communities. It is difficult to imagine talking about internet-based music collectives nowadays without including PC Music in the conversation. As for the overall sound of the label, it has been described as the future sound of electronic music, as well as being an active parody on the current direction of the pop genre, all through of the use of pitch-shifted female vocals and intense production. The label has received notoriety for having the possibility to shift the future direction of both the pop and electronic music scenes; some have even gone as far as championing it as a sign of the end of electronic music as we know it, while others see it as as a new movement with the potential to elevate the club scene back to its once vibrant ‘90s status. PC Music, along with Redbull Music Academy Radio, held a club night in Los Angeles showcasing off some of the label’s brightest stars. So, the only logical decision was to down a few Sambuca Redbulls and see for myself if these kids were another internet fad or actually capable of rejuvenating the pop and electronic scenes to a whole new height.
The first noticeable thing upon entering such an event was the aesthetic of it all. The room was brimming with twenty-something adults uniformly wearing all white or a mix of bright fuchsia and pastel pink with reflective neon sunglasses despite being indoors. It was like walking into the strange lovechild of an early ‘90s club scene and the human manifestation of internet culture. The attention given to aesthetic details extended far beyond the crowd itself and permeated every aspect of the night’s performances. First to the stage was easyFun, radiating the feeling of drowning in a soda fountain sea of Orange Crush, taking the stage in an orange sweater under the glow of orange lights. Much like opinions regarding PC Music as a whole, each artist from the collective’s atmosphere was divisive from one another as could be. Next was Spinee, a noticeable standout of the first part of the night, who followed with an ode to early MySpace electronic music all while incorporating internet in-jokes that gave off the sense of losing yourself in a twisted version of the Matrix. The night continued with Lil Data sticking with primarily minimalist techno visuals, GFOTY performing a raucous set flanked with spastic red visuals and a pair of male and female strippers, and Felicita roaming around the stage, with an iPad in hand, accompanied by performers adorning elaborate makeup blowing bubbles into the crowd. Before the main names of the label had even taken the stage, it had already felt like I had seen everything from the personification of internet culture to a fine performance art piece I was not all too sure I understood.
The next chapter of the night was perhaps the most bizarre as some of PC Music’s most prominent producers were joined by two of the biggest names in pop music. The climax was led by QT, who serves PC Music as their marketed pop star and living embodiment of a somewhat fictitious energy drink. QT took the stage in a robotic fashion where she grandiosely opened a can of said beverage, capitalizing on the crowd’s elation over such a simple yet now suddenly magical task, before jumping into a number of songs that were reminiscent of some of the best radio friendly pop hits released in recent memory. The rest of the night shifted towards a more straightforward, albeit at times slightly experimental, pop and electronic direction. A.G. Cook invited Hannah Diamond on stage to sing a few ballads revolving around young love and dreaming of being noticed by that special someone. The two ended their set with popstar Charli XCX joining them to perform a number of electronic anthems, which had the essence of eurodance hits from the likes of Alice Deejay and Underworld. The final chapter of the showcase began in extraordinary fashion as Danny L Harle took the stage. I noticed that standing beside me was easyFun, A.G. Cook, and Hannah Diamond, hollering at the top of their lungs as their friend began his set. The end of the night was signaled by the PC Music group standing beside me going hysterical with the rest of the crowd as pop idol Carly Rae Jepsen took the stage to perform two unreleased songs with Danny L Harle. The night was an infusion from the depths of internet culture, experimental electronic music, and at times pop in its purest form.
Is PC Music more than just another passing internet subculture that is likely to see its end in the near future or can it be considered the future of pop music? The only thing that I am sure of after losing my surroundings in a stream of constant fog machines and flashing purple lights, as the room filled with the mixture of early club music and modern production tweaked to its most extremes, was that it was a lively and carefree time. The night was evocative of a club scene that is rarely available now and was mostly unavailable during its peak to most of the youth-aged crowd. It is currently unclear whether PC Music is capable of anything as grandiose as being the new direction of pop music or revitalizing the club scene, but as I watched easyFun, Hannah Diamond, and A.G. Cook effervescently cheering on their peer, while dancing maniacally in the crowd, it was clear that the PC Music collective love the direction they are currently headed and have managed to find a devoted following that feels the same way.