In one of the fastest growing cities in America, two Seattle residents have collectively spent the past nine years making a dent in the local experimental and noise scenes. Debacle Records, founded in 2006 by Seattle native Sam Melancon, started out as a locally-focused drone and experimental CD-R label. Its initial roster was followed by a fiercely loyal group of noise freaks, with Melancon leading the charge.
While preparing for his wedding in 2008, Sam got the idea to put on a show. “I was getting married,” Melancon said, “And I said to my best man, who was in the band Physical Demon, ‘Let’s not have a bachelor party but how about we throw a show with all the people who were on early Debacle, mostly noise kind of stuff, and have a big, fun night.’” What he and his best man put together became the inaugural Debacle Fest, which is about to run its eighth iteration this July, at the Columbia City Theater in South Seattle. The fest has grown from a small, tight-knit friend circle to one of the city’s must-see experimental music events. “The first year, it was only one night, and by the second year it was two nights. It always went the way of, here’s a bunch of people I like and that I think are underrated. And then we’re gonna put them all in a room together and let them rip.”
Along the way, Melancon befriended and brought in Rachel LeBlanc, a fellow noise devotee, as the label and festival began incorporating acts outside of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Asked about her introduction to Sam and the label, Rachel remarked, “One of the first first noise shows I went to at the Josephine just happened to be a Debacle Fest show.” She saw a set from Forrest Friends, a band “with a giant mess of toys and random instruments, with one guy taking himself very seriously, strumming on a banjo, and the other guy’s being all goofy in these tattered up vests and bear hoods.” The anything-goes attitude of the band, aided by the crowd being on board for whatever was in store for them, made her realize, “I’d found my people.” With her enthusiasm for the label, the local scene, and experience booking shows, Rachel made an ideal partner as Debacle Fest grew into a multi-day and, in some cases, multi-venue affair. While this year’s fest takes place at one venue over two nights, the most ambitious year was 2011, when Debacle put on five shows over four days at three venues. To top it off, Rachel video recorded all 35 sets (check it out here).
Whereas previous festivals utilized bars and DIY spaces around town (The Black Lodge, Lo-Fi, and Josephine), Debacle Fest 2015 is happening at the Columbia City Theater, located a few miles south of downtown. “We were really lucky that the Columbia City Theater picked us up,” Sam said. “We try to have at least one aspect of the fest take place at an underground venue,” but due to the unpredictable nature of underground spaces, “the best venue became a place outside the inner core [of Seattle] and was a legit venue, which is not normally the case.”
Because of the niche genres pursued by the label, Sam and Rachel draw crowds not just through one big headliner, but by routinely showcasing local talent (LA Lungs, Knifecream, Brain Fruit, and Stan Reed, among others) alongside nationally renowned artists (Pete Swanson, Sean McCann, and Rene Hell) that fit within the Debacle aesthetic. That diverse lineup, according to Sam, is “the core of […]the festival, in that you may not know who these people are but inside this, today, in this moment, after this band and before this band you’re gonna love it, just trust us.” This year is no different, with a lineup that is sure to please longtime festival goers and newcomers alike, with Timm Mason, Raica, LA Lungs among the weekend’s offerings.
We try to have at least one aspect of the fest take place at an underground venue … [but] the best venue became a place outside the inner core [of Seattle] and was a legit venue, which is not normally the case.
“Every year there’s one of those acts that you really want to book, they’ve been on your radar, and I don’t care if nobody knows who you are, or if it’s just me,” and for Sam that is Vancouver’s Sarah Davachi. Her recent work for Students of Decay and Constellation Tatsu exposed her to a wide audience, and she’ll likely put on one of the fest’s must see sets. Rachel gave a hint of one surprise performance, from Seattle’s Slates. “We asked him to play […] and he then countered with, ‘Well, can I come up and play under the Slates Big Band moniker?’ So he’s bringing this ensemble of four other noisers. Who knows what that’ll be like!”
After the festival, Sam and Rachel will continue releasing records through Debacle. 2015 started off quietly with the CD releases of albums by Dågur and John Krausbauer. While the label has recently been putting out vinyl albums, CDs still carry an appeal for the kinds of works Sam pursues. “I push the CD on some people saying, hey if you have a song or piece that’s over 20 minutes, or a concept of three songs that wouldn’t work if it was broken up on vinyl, or just something that needs the crispness of digital, then we should do it on CD.” That philosophy works especially well on the recent Krausbauer release, Blues for the Grave, a deep, 30-minute meditative drone work that connects the dots between the sonics of recent Debacle LPs by LA Lungs (the ambient, serene Rrest) and Total Life (the harsh industrial tones of Bender/Drifter). Later this year the label intends to reissue Golden Retriever 2, from the Portland, OR duo of Matt Carlson and Jonathan Sielaff, and to close out 2015 they’re dropping a “Northwest take on ambient dub” from Chambers, which includes Gabriel Saloman (ex-Yellow Swans) and Michael Red. An EP and LP release are planned, both of which are “very beautiful, very gray and Northwest-y,” according to Sam. “It’s kind of a dream come true record that we’re putting in production,” and Sam thinks Chambers “will surprise a lot of people.”
Debacle Fest takes place July 10-11, 2015, at the Columbia City Theater. Additional information can be found here, and one and two-day tickets can be purchased here.
