West Coast [mp3]

Deepak Mantena is Junk Culture, recently relocated to Portland, OR, signed to Illegal Art (Girl Talk, Steinski, Bran Flakes), and playing some NW shows with Girl Talk. Although these tracks are samples, loops, electronica, there's a warm, humanly personal vibe about them that I find inviting. Junk Culture's debut EP, West Coast, emerges 10/27/09. I hear he's already working on his next EP with more traditional vocals and songwriting.

From the label - "West Coast embodies these "fresh" sounds, and employs them for what Deepak describes as "a love letter to outer space -- it gets desperate and schizophrenic as the record plays out, but is a sort of celebration of spirit as a whole." It is essentially Deepak's manifesto of energetic raw sound that transcends rigid genres, and is textural, emotive and compelling.......Emulating more of a live band than an electronic act, the visceral Junk Culture live show also involves Deepak's younger brother, Nitin, on drums. The performance includes the Mantena siblings jamming to a tight string of sequences that involve sampled patterns, live percussion, synced visuals of films from the 50's/60's, and Deepak's singing.

NW Shows with Girl Talk:

Fri. 09/18/09 Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo w/ Girl Talk, Brother Reade
Sat. 09/19/09 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom w/ Girl Talk, Brother Reade
Sun. 09/20/09 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom w/ Girl Talk, Brother Reade