Doofgoblin

Mechanical anti-rock? Asymmetrical hip-hop? Experimental electronica? If you can summarize Doofgoblin’s unambiguously weird take on laptop-made music in a convenient catch phrase or two, chances are you’re just as warped and/or adventuresome as the artist himself. In which case, congrats. The man also known as John Gulino has musical tastes that resemble a hard rocker’s — he lists early Megadeth and the Melvins as initial influences — though it’s fellow electronic producers such as Aphex Twin and Autechre who seem to have made the greatest impression on Doofgoblin’s albums (which include the recently released Know the Situation). One important difference between Doofgoblin and his contemporaries is that he takes the “experimental” half of experimental electronica to uncharted extremes; indeed, some songs start and finish with neither proper time signatures nor easily identifiable beginnings and ends. And yes, in case you’re wondering, attending a Doofgoblin show does involve watching one guy twiddle away at a complex array of knobs and buttons. The Alabama upstart headlines an Unschooled Records showcase that also includes Plat and Katastatik.