DJ Kaos at U Street Music Hall
Sept. 28
The Berlin-based DJ Kaos is staunchly old-school, especially fond of Chicago house classics, and a known hater of digital DJs. But his own productions aren’t totally backward-looking. “Love the Nite Away,” Kaos’ 2009 single on DFA, suited that label’s trademark: “Too old to be new, too new to be classic.”
Hans-Joachim Roedelius at Velvet Lounge
Oct. 12
Longtime experimentalist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, now nearly an octogenarian, has not yet exhausted all his ideas. Last year, after another dissolution of his influential group Cluster, Roedelius and sound artist Onnen Block reformed as Qluster and announced plans to release a trilogy of albums, Rufen, Fragen, and Antworten (calling, asking, and answering). Fragen is quietly stunning, often approaching the melodic refinement of Cluster’s 1976 album Sowiesoso. The German artist—who’s collaborated with Brian Eno, Michael Rother (of Kraftwerk and Neu!), and former Cluster members Dieter Moebius and Conrad Schnitzler—has always kept great company, but he plays solo for this show at the Velvet Lounge.
Dam-Funk at Rock & Roll Hotel
Oct. 30
The last time this Los Angeles funk producer and DJ was in town, he played a keytar in a steamy warehouse in Northeast. One-and-a-half years and a big chunk of press coverage later, he’s booked at the relatively establishmentarian rock venue on H Street. But that doesn’t mean he’s gone soft: With his live act Master Blazter, Dam-Funk has crafted a truly masterful top-down, late-night-drive vibe, something like Zapp & Roger drenched in liquid codeine.