Future Fest is one music festival that brings the noise

Get ready to hear some noise.

In this case, noise music, as part of Future Fest 2017, being offered at Tapp’s Arts Center Saturday, July 15.

Future Fest is a music festival featuring various local and regional experimental music performances. The event was launched last year by Lucas Sams, a local musician in the band Pray For Triangle Zero and founder of Tri City Rec, a DIY experimental music label.

“I wanted to do Future Fest last year as both a showcase for Tri City Rec and to gather friends locally and regionally who were doing cutting-edge stuff in the experimental and DIY sphere,” Sams said.

The event was a success, Sams said, and he was approached to do another one this year.

“With things of this nature, you never know what to expect,” he said. “But if you plan something unique enough, people will want to come check it out.”

His goal is to showcase the area’s broad range of fringe music, including experimental electronica; experimental noise and ambient music; drone analog synthesizer music; and harsh noise. These are categorized as “fringe” because they are experimental by nature, and may often be performed in nontraditional venues.

“Columbia has the best experimental scene is South Carolina,” Sams said, adding that may be due to its already varied music scene. Columbia also serves as a good meeting point for musicians from the Upstate and Lowcountry, as well as those in Georgia and North Carolina.

Tapp’s Arts Center has become a hub for the local experimental music scene, and several of the acts have performed there in the past. Among some of the more familiar acts are experimental electronic act Infinitikiss and local noise artist, Dollar Genital.

While creating the lineup for this year, Sams says he wanted to showcase more noise music as well as more female musicians.

Two of the performing noise acts, Dendera Bloodbath from Atlanta and Spookstina from Raleigh, embody this aim. Sams says the festival will be a bit heavier this year, but there will still be some danceable acts, including local DJ Siji.

“So there’s something for everyone,” he said, “especially if you like harsh noise.”

Sams is most excited to bring all the acts together and see them perform for the people of Columbia. He sees much potential for growth in the local experimental scene and hopes this can foster more appreciation and collaboration among locals.

“I hope events like Future Fest will attract even more experimental artists to Columbia,” he said, “and expose more people to new forms of expression, inspiring local artists to push the envelope.”

Ony Ratsimbaharison, Special to Go Columbia