Tussle

Most electronic music makers fall into one of two broad categories: They're either interested in making art or making people dance. However, San Francisco's Tussle, appearing with Pictureplane and Analog Space DJs, frequently straddles these classifications. "Transparent C," a key track from Cream Cuts, the group's latest disc for the...

By Michael Roberts

August 28, 2008

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Most electronic music makers fall into one of two broad categories: They're either interested in making art or making people dance. However, San Francisco's Tussle, appearing with Pictureplane and Analog Space DJs, frequently straddles these classifications. "Transparent C," a key track from Cream Cuts, the group's latest disc for the Smalltown Supersound imprint, illustrates this point. The odd array of sonic elements that open the song cohere after a minute or so, serving as color for some exuberant thump-thump. But instead of doing it to death, as most club mavens would, group founders Jonathan Holland and Nathan Burazer, supplemented by Warren Huegel and Tomonori Yasuda, bring the proceedings to an abrupt halt not once but twice, with the concluding passages dominated by whooshing poltergeist noises later joined by a snare drum that's more marching band than disco dynamo. The rest of Tussle's hustles vacillate between the propulsive and the unpredictable, too — art for art's sake, dancing for dancing's sake.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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