Eliot Lipp brings stylish electronica grooves to Boone

Electronica music has exploded over the last few years, both in the U.S. and overseas.

DJs and producers like Skrillex and D3admau5 are selling out open-air stadiums, and the same thing is happening in Europe.

While most electronica and techno is a never-ending wall of sound geared to get a crowd raving, the mixes of Eliot Lipp, who will play Boone Saloon on Friday, Feb. 15, are more diverse and layered.

You can download Lipp’s new album, “Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake,” for free or for a small donation online at http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/therecordlabel.

What is different about Lipp’s sonic manipulations is how he changes up the beats, bringing in jazz, hip-hop, funk, techno and drum-and-bass samples to help build his mixes. He also adds his own keyboard work to the grooves, which gives them an organic feel.

“When I make a song, usually I start by digging through some old records, looking for break beats or some guitar riffs, just something to sample,” Lipp said. “If I find a riff I like, then I’ll start looping it, then add some keyboards to it and a bass line. And I’ll start adding drum beats around it. I have a lot of analog synthesizers and a Wurlitzer piano. I have a lot of instruments in the studio that I love recording with.”

As with a lot of kids with an older sibling who played music, Lipp got the bug for music while hanging out with his brother and his friends.

“I started out because my older brother had a band, and when they weren’t rehearsing, I would go into the attic and start playing their drums and guitars and everything,” Lipp said. “So, I started out by playing live music. I started my own band, eventually, but I was always into the production end of it, recording and mixing. Moving from that into electronica music was natural.”

When putting together new jams, Lipp tries not to get into the trap of making electronica music that is too monotonous.

“I have a short attention span,” Lipp said. “I like to make ADD-kind of music. I do like to try and get a groove going, because I don’t want to jerk it around too much. But, at the same time, repetition is not my forte. I like doing songs, verse-chorus-verse type of stuff. That is how I came up writing music. And it is a different take on electronica music. Most techno and house is really repetitive. It’s dance music. That is part of my inspiration and a part of my influence, and I do take a lot from that. But I try to write songs. It’s not just about making tracks.”

Lipp is looking forward to headlining at Boone Saloon, where he’ll have the time to stretch out and take the club-goers on a fun ride.

“I’ve got this old analog synthesizer, a Korg MS-10, and it is half modular and half hard-wired, so I play a lot of bass lines and a lot of live synth,” Lipp said. “But I also have the controller on my laptop where I’m doing live remixes. So, I like to mix digital and analog for my live sets, and I do a cross between DJ-ing and performing. I just like to blur the lines. In the first part of my live show, I try to make people dance. I like to get the energy level up and get the crowd dancing. But, at the same time, it is a concert. It is a performance, not just a DJ set.”

Eliot Lipp will perform Friday, Feb. 15, at 10 p.m. at Boone Saloon, located at 489 W. King St. Doors open at 9 p.m., and there’s a $10 cover charge. For more information, visit http://www.eliotlipp.com.