Already renowned for the bombastic bump 'n' squelch of their hyper-kinetic live shows (at block parties, raves, galleries, basements and noise/punk improv shows across the USA and Europe), the San Francisco-based duo of Gregory Zifcak and Marijke Jorritsma tackle the rhythms, textures and dynamics of dance music and techno with a uniquely punk-rock, "anything goes" approach.

A mélange of thumping beats, videogame blips and screeching feedback, Eats Tapes' music is an all-out dance floor assault of rambunctious, party-hearty, four-to-the-floor acid techno. As a live act, however, the duo create their fully-interfaceable, improvised sounds in real time with self-built, self-modified equipment -- including midi-sequencer, synths, hand-manipulated tape loops, Nintendo midiNES cartridge, various toys and drum machines.

Part of what makes Eats Tapes so striking is the polarity of responses that their music and live shows inspire -- both cerebral (intellectual) and visceral (dancing). "Apparently", says Zifcak, "coming to see us play involves either paying no attention to what we're doing and minding your own dancing... or staring at us while we hunch over a table of gear and make structural decisions and manipulate sounds... We basically approach live performance in terms of a combination of predetermined elements and live manipulation", Zifcak adds. "A lot of our sounds depend on active decisions, and obviously things like feedback are not presequenced. I like to improvise a portion of the drum sequencing live as well."

The duo met in Portland, Oregon in 2001 while both working at the same restaurant. Jorritsma quickly became a huge fan of Zifcak's solo project Illegal Mindz, and in the midsts of the city's burgeoning electronic music scene, the couple became both musically and romantically involved. "I had been working mostly within a static studio approach to sequencing tracks, and Marijke had dabbled in various live instruments. We sort of met in the middle over gear that allowed us to work live", says Zifcak. "We were basically influenced by the club/rave scene there and the sort of underground noise and improv, as well as a thriving little crusty autonomous techno/hardcore community. We like to bounce around between those worlds."

In 2002, the pair began performing together in San Francisco as Boom De La Boom, and in August 2003 played their first show together in Portland under the new name Eats Tapes. They quickly caught the attention of Miguel Depedro (aka Kid 606) whose Tigerbeat6 label issued the terrific "Sticky Buttons" album and the "Supreme Master" 12-inch single. In addition to their TB6 releases, the duo have also issued the self-released 2004 collection "Still Works", and a further 12-inch named "Dinosaur Days" (2005) on the Community Library label.

Though already established on the back of their hugely energetic live shows, their studio work is every bit as wiry, unhinged, and electrifying -- possessed of a bouncy, fizzy energy that's equally as likely to cause eruptions on dance floors as it is to blow the speakers and minds of bedroom boffin techno enthusiasts everywhere.

Allan Harrison