The catchy pulses and waves of electronic music rippled through the airwaves during the 1980s and 1990s, launching the careers of artists such as Devo, Moby, Massive Attack, Radiohead, Björk and New Order. With the developments of sequencing, sampling and synthesis technology, musicians could create and record electronic music from their own personal computer without the financial support of a major recording label. Today, elements of electronica can be detected in the music of mainstream artists proving that electronica was never a passing phase.

The College of the Canyons Music Department will present its very first "Evening of Electronika" on June 1 at 7:30 p.m., where students from the Electronic Music for Stage class will create, manipulate and perform their material live in the COC Black Box Theatre.

"Evening of Electronika" will showcase the works of Jettdee, a highly creative producer and rapper who gives hip-hop an unexpected twist by bringing in some funk, soul, dub and jazz grooves to his cool way of rapping. Actress, singer and composer Janet Strauss, will present her dream-like video as a tribute to the "quiet Beatle," George Harrison. Justin Bardales, Pejman Roozbeh, and Tim Sloan have created dramatic and perplexing music, where the sounds of the piano are transformed live through digital processes. Sherief Zakher has created a remix of astonishing timbres that are mixed on-stage with eloquent guitar riffs. Soundscapes that transform sadness into hope are common in both of Charlie Camarillo and Andrew Wroblewski's music. The musical collaboration of David Innes and David Nelson results in a performance that combines electric guitars with computer-modeled instruments. Jana Janouskova, a native artist and dancer from the Czech Republic who studied at the Prague Music School before joining the program at COC, has written an evocative and otherworldly chant on a text by Paul Mercogliano.

"Evening of Elektronica" will be curated by Bernardo Feldman, chair of the COC Music Department, and celebrated multi-media composer whose innovative work has been featured throughout the country and abroad at major music festivals.

Admission is free.

For more information about "Evening of Electronika" or the COC Music Department, visit the college's website at www.canyons.edu or contact Bernardo Feldman at (661) 362-3254.