Hot on the heels of its new album release, Hello Electric introduced students to its raw electronic sound in a Nov. 4 Cat Cab.
The bearded, multi-instrumentalist trio dug in with hard-hitting, aggressive songs, maintaining high energy throughout their set. The band tried out a new song for the audience.
“I think it was really cool, especially the drums and guitar,” freshman Suzi Sumkhuu said. “I think they should bring this kind of band more often so people can [get to] know this kind of music more.”
Hello Electric hails from Portland, consisting of members Kirk Ohnstad, Zachary Bendt and Henry Gibson. Ohnstad founded the band in 2005, starting it as a project out of his dorm room in Eugene, Ore.
“It’s cool that they’re local,” freshman Lizzie Curtis said.
In 2008, Bendt and Gibson joined, and the band began performing around Portland, fine-tuning its sound. The result is a high-impact show that leaves the audience looking lost in contemplation.
The band’s first studio effort and second full-length album titled “Skychief” was released last summer. John Gourley of Portugal. The Man, a band that performed a Cat Cab last fall, acted as producer.
“We’re rereleasing the album; we’re working with a publicist in Montreal and doing a music video for that,” Ohnstad said. “It will be released officially on Jan. 25 on a vinyl. The editions that we sold in Europe were different ones with different songs so we switched it up.”
Each member of Hello Electric began his music career playing the drums, something Hello Electric attributes as its fundamental base in rhythm. Building on a foundation set by beat machines and drums, aggressive electric guitar and edgy vocals drive Hello Electric’s bold sound.
“It started out as me just recording for a long time and the live shows just followed,” Ohnstad said. “Playing music live is a passion.”
Hello Electric recently returned from touring across Austria. Ohnstad said it was an awesome experience for the band. Techno is popular in Austria. The clubs the band played in had good sound systems which Ohnstad said worked well with Hello Electric’s music.
“We made some really good friends in kind of a small part of the world to play in,” Ohnstad said.
Hello Electric has more shows scheduled in Oregon this winter.
“We’re pre-releasing [the album] right now, doing a few shows. We’re doing an East Coast tour in February,” Ohnstad said.
To hear more from Hello Electric, visit the band’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/spaceflight127 or website at www.helloelectric.com.

Gabi Nygaard/Staff reporter

Gabi Nygaard can be reached at [email protected].