Futro [fyü-trō] is a noun. This person, place or thing just happens to be "a collection of creative weirdos making music and other things," often under the banner of the Portland-based collective Futro Records. Generating "a sound that encompasses multiple styles and genres into a timeless unity" also somewhat sums up what the Futro Kit 3.0 is all about, which is what—well, one of the things—the Futro crew will be celebrating on First Thursday at Upper Playground in NW Portland.
As the name suggests, this is the third edition of the Futro Kit, which once again features a multimedia compilation of new music, videos and other media delivered via a USB drive that also includes official music videos as well as Alex Boyce’s VideoThing 2 (which allows users to manipulate and create video art—check out the first version here). Side A highlights unreleased singles from Futro artists (like Yum Yum, Ripley Snell, Abyss Infinite and Koolaid) while side B contains works from Futro affiliates and friends.
In honor of the release party (as well as an art show and new art zine), Futro ringmaster Danny Diana-Peebles put together a Kit 3.0 playlist for today's Mixtape Monday, which spotlights 15 of the 18 diverse Kit artists. Enjoy Portland-made and international flavors including NOLA bounce from Fly Boi Keno, offerings from Egyptian electronic artists ZULi and Hussein Sherbini, and a Bart Simpson-inspired cut from legendary local electronic hustler E*Rock, as well as a glitch rap track of Diana-Peebles' own under the moniker Neo G Yo (from his brand new Foolin In Illusion mixtape).
