by Casey Moffitt
Canadian dubstep DJ Excision has a rare skill for excavating the garish and transforming it into the sublime. As he pounds away at the EDM porn loop, he finds astonishingly vile and hideous tones to layer upon it, turning his show into an otherworldly realm littered with annoying beauty. Dropping wretched robotic tones and metal guitar riffs to grind away captive audiences, this alluring obnoxiousness is what makes Excision’s oxymoronic work so unusual. Previously, Excision has turned up the volume on this vulgarity, setting up a 250,000-watt sound system offering crowds no relief and showing no mercy. (Of course, his light show is also excessive and exquisite.) Excision also seems to have a penchant for violence as we hear about throwing elbows, breaking necks or cracking skulls. These are unusual themes to find in dubstep, and it’s more than a little unsettling. Then again, it all adds to the glorious discourse of the show. Your parents will hate it.
