CYBRID
Two Macintoshes and a Vocoder

by Amanda Scotese Take the DJ away from a dingy San Francisco night
club, and the usually corporally inspired souls would be at a
loss. Not so when the laptop duo Cybrid steps to the tables. Cybrid,
one of few local laptop groups that plunges into dance clubs rather
than live music venues, successfully makes listeners feel at
ass-bumping home despite the DJ’s absence. "The primary
objective is to make people dance," says Jim Gourgoutis, one half
of Cybrid's, via the technological tool he knows best - the
computer.

Their early-'80s-inspired electro funk, with all its cavernously
        resonating beats, retro computer bleeps, and Kraftwerk-style
        minimalism, is continuously exposing electronic music
        aficionados to this relatively new music medium. Partner
        Gustavo Lanzas explains, "I think some people are
        initially put off by the laptops, since a lot of laptop music
        is somewhat eclectic or experimental (non-danceable), but once
        they see us put on the gold chains, hats, and sunglasses that
        have become our trademark, and then hear the vocoder, those
        impressions melt away pretty quickly."

So it's not just two guys and their Macs - Cybrid,
        like any techies, has many musical toys that are speckled with buttons
        and glowing digital displays. In addition to a vocoder, Cybrid shuffles
        between a keyboard, MIDI effects units, an arpeggiator (for making sound
        patterns from chords), a MIDI patchbay (for hooking everything up and
        messing around with pitches and such), and sometimes turntables, too.

Besides that, they catch attention with their Run-DMC-style
        costumes, Gourgoutis and Lanzas are fun to watch as they play off each
        other, mixing many sources and communicating in intricate ways through
        the pressing of buttons and tweaking of knobs. Being a two-man team shows
        off a more dynamic performance than just a solo DJ, and Cybrid has even
        stretched their collaboration into the often static performance realm
        of the DJ, ricocheting off one another with tag-team DJ sets. Gustavo
        says pointedly, "We bring an element of performance and interaction
        that is missing in a lot of other contemporary electronic music."

With the November 2002 release of their 5-song 'Transistor
          Abuse' EP, which has been selling across the nation, and its forthcoming
          international distribution, Cybrid's deep and dirty San Francisco
          electro sound will soon spread to underground clubs far beyond the
          Bay Area. Add that to plans for a tour later this year and their recent
          project as a tag teaming DJ crew, and you've got some hardworking
          musicians. Pressing buttons really ain't so easy.


from http://www.performermag.com/wcpfeature1.shtml