Reporter

When Reporter started out nine years ago as Wet Confetti, it was another arty post-punk trio brought together by WW’s classifieds section. But onstage at this month’s PDX Pop Now! festival and playing songs off its sophomore album, Time Incredible, it hardly seemed like the same band.

Sure, Reporter’s standard drums/bass/guitar setup remains, but the sonic focal point is now a sampler. Frontwoman Alberta Poon’s breathy coos are somehow higher and more ambiently incorporated into the mix. And blissful bass grooves melt into sweaty, driving beats. If you needed any further proof that the group has dropped the “punk” from its “dance-punk” genre tag, look no further than the glow-sticks the bandmembers unironically threw into the audience during their set. It was a statement of purpose of sorts: Reporter is here to make you move.

“I’ve always liked dance music,” says Poon of her band’s maturation into electronica territory. “And we were always trying to make [it], but we were just young and didn’t know what we were doing.”

Though the band’s name change predates its 2008 album, Dust & Stars, it’s Time Incredible that feels like the introduction of a new group; this is the album on which the trio really stops being Wet Confetti and becomes Reporter. Gone are the spazzy rhythms, the interlocking guitar lines and the bouncy pop choruses. In their place are glossy waves of synth; intricate, buzzy loops; and a sophisticated, complex mix of programmed and live drums—the combined effect of which has the sexy, late-night ennui of Italo disco, the DayGlo patina of French house and the glamorous danger of rock ‘n’ roll. “You can either fall asleep to it or rage to it,” says drummer Mike McKinnon of the finished collection.

“Back in the day, we wrote like a normal rock band—by jamming or someone coming to practice with a song—but now we are a totally different band in every way,” says Poon proudly. “We write in the studio, which makes so much more sense with what we’re doing, and then we figure out [how to play] it live, which is the magic.”

But Reporter’s new sound isn’t only the result of many late nights working in the studio—it’s also a result of extensive research: Reporter went out dancing a lot. Changing their perspective from music-makers to music-experiencers, the band members learned what fills dance floors and what gets their own bodies moving. Then they went back to their home studio to put into practice what they’d learned.

That studio, the result of years of equipment collecting by McKinnon and guitarist Dan Grazzini, is now an impressive space—a “Skynet,” they joke, referencing the A.I. system from the Terminator franchise—that’s moved from their homes to a professional site near Rotture. Though they joke about the computer (“[it] thinks and writes our songs for us…it could kill the whole world,” says Poon), they are deadly serious about the music they make on it. When McKinnon says, “I think the worst it could do is write a bad song,” Poon offers a quick retort: “I’d rather it kill the whole world than write a bad song.” - Willamette Weel

IT'S A WAFT of the voice you hear on many '80s 12-inch singles, the final resting place of the disco diva. It's Jocelyn Brown, Shannon, and Sylvia Striplin—sotto voce. It's spooky. And thanks to a compellingly artless reliance on echo and delay effects, it's omniscient, too, much like all good ghosts are. This is Alberta Poon, cut loose from all those Blonde Redhead comparisons she and her bandmates, Michael McKinnon and Daniel Grazzini, once attracted as Wet Confetti.

But I repeat: That band is over. Poon, McKinnon, and Grazzini now call themselves Reporter. It might not be a new group, but it is, as Poon says, "a new project," one whose chief distinction from the last is its ability to fill a dance floor. Which isn't to say this trio only recently learned how to have fun. It's just that, on Reporter's new full-length, Time Incredible, they've invited us into their circle.

So as I sit down with Poon and McKinnon in a downtown café, I have one question that will filter all the others. What's with the name change? "Nothing we do has a reason," Poon deadpans. McKinnon tries his best to help out. But this lapses into an improv game, a dialogue with Poon centering on the word "drugs." They laugh. I try to keep up. Meanwhile, the ice in my toddy melts.

At first I assume this is the typical image-protecting stonewall adopted by many bands, come peddling time. But the longer I spend with Reporter, the more difficult it becomes to imagine a band playbook for writing new music, let alone outmaneuvering the press. After our meeting, which felt more like an eavesdropping, I listen again to Time Incredible and hear it in a different context. This time? No '80s. And no '90s, for that matter. I don't even hear the general indie trend of the last five years toward distressed vintage electronics (though it's there).

Instead, what Time Incredible represents for these three friends is another of those subtle shifts in dynamics that happens in any clique. Their pleasure is ours. - Portland Mercury

Reporter is a three-piece electro-rock band from Portland. Using live instruments as well as samples and drum machines, the group straddles the line between rock and electronica. The breathy, sensual vocals of Alberta Poon top a dance-inflicting mix of minimal house and techno -- and onstage, the group can get feed off a crowd the way a DJ would. We spoke with Reporter drummer/sample wizard Mike McKinnon for this run-down on the band, which performs tonight at Milk with Summer Blondes, Wampire, and Party Effects.

Describe your sound to a stranger: "It's a mix of disco and minimal house and French house with a bit of a rock aesthetic on top of it. Although we're more like a band, and Alberta sings, and we have lyrics, it's still like we're coming from the dance music side of things."

Origin myth: All three members have been playing together for nine years, first in a post-punk/no-wave rock band called Wet Confetti. But they changed the name and focus of the project two years ago. "We just decided we wanted to start fresh," McKinnon says. "We were always into electronic music, but we didn't really play it. We dove in deep and started listening to that stuff, and it ended up influencing us a lot."

Why go electronic?: "We started thinking a lot more about the audience. Instead of us going from part to part and kind of confusing people, we just we really wanted to figure out what it takes to get people to move."

Influences: Ricardo Villalobos, Daft Punk, and Fred Falke, among others.

Live show: Retains the use of samples from the group's studio work, but with live instruments and no laptop, Reporter can pick up the feel of the room. "It's not like, okay, this song's the same every time," McKinnon says. "Depending on the crowd, you can extend the part out and play off the audience."

Explain your band name: "We're reporting what we're into. We're reporting our music to everybody. There was definitely no hidden meaning behind us picking that name, it was just like 'Hey, we like the ring of that.'"

Current release: The debut full-length Time Incredible. "A lot of the lyrics on the album, they're really kind of cosmic and time-and-space oriented," McKinnon says. "And [there are] also a lot of references to love."

Goal for the band: "We probably have half a full-length [record] half-done right now, and I want to finish those up and get those out as soon as possible. We really want to get over to Japan and Europe really bad. One of our main goals is to get our foot in the door over there -- I feel like a lot of the the music that I'm really, really into is going on in Europe, as far as electronic music."

Day jobs: Daniel Grazzini, guitars and synths, "works coffee." Alberta Poon, vocals, makes jewelry and has her own accessory line. McKinnon runs a food cart in Portland. "It's called Potato Champion," he explains. "We do fresh-cut Belgian-style fries, kind of like Frjitz in S.F."

Thing you look forward to doing in S.F.: "Every time I come to S.F., I'm pumped about that club 222 Hyde," McKinnon says. "It's a totally amazing dance club. Every time we come down, no matter what's going on there, I usually go there just to hang out." - SF Weekly

Reporter’s Time Incredible finds the Portland band coming fully into its own, delivering sleek and otherworldly songs drawing from dance, dub, shoegaze, and Krautrock with ease. The seeds of this sound were present in Dust & Stars, but Alberta Poon, Mike McKinnon, and Daniel Grazzini were still making the transition from their prior incarnation as post-post-punks Wet Confetti. While Grazzini’s guitars still throw a few angles into the band’s otherwise swirling songs, Time Incredible is much smoother and more hypnotic than any of the trio’s work under either moniker. Songs like “Geronimo’s Bones” are subtly compelling, with Poon’s breathy vocals pulling the listener into gentle beats and breakdowns that are more like rolling hills than peaks and valleys. Even when the band is more insistent, as on “Total Fascination,” Reporter’s sound is cushioned in splashy dub-inflected reverb and layers of synth that feel like a futuristic upgrade of dream pop. The band is at the peak of its dream-disco powers on lengthy excursions such as “Silent Running” and the delicately prickly title track, which somehow manage to be transporting and intimate at the same time. As challenging as it is accessible, Time Incredible lives up to its name. - Allmusic

One of music’s greatest gifts is being able to turn impressive live acts into impressive studio music – or even better, vice versa. While electronic music has battled to hold the prestige it currently has, even the best live artists have follies in the studio. For Portland trio Reporter, their music sounds just as vitally charged, just as buoyantly afloat, and just as electric on their debut, Time Incredible, as it does live. And when you’re just starting out, being able to produce your own music – extremely well at that – then you’re already quite ahead.
The sci-fi tendencies of their name hint at super synthesized music but instead Reporter construct tightly wound electronic hits in fascinating manners. This isn’t a brief demo that was recorded to garner some kind of attention. No, Time Incredible was recorded in the trio’s own studio and produced solely by themselves, for themselves. The results are nine highly polished, beaming even, songs that blend the realms of ambience, pop and electronic music together.
Never looking to make things any more serious than they have to, the music results into levels of hip-shaking moments, rather than pulling at your heart-strings. “Lab Test” introduces a clashing guitar to counter the tapping keyboards and congas; everything then dies down before kicking right back into the female-led vocals. Each song is a carefully composed song that takes on different shapes and sizes before it’s all said and done. But even through their subtle changes, each one will surely have you thinking of the dancefloor.
The dancefloor is where Reporter usually operates, proclaiming that Portland is no longer Elliott Smith’s sad Portland but instead a haven for DIY dance/electronic beatmakers. The music is definitely built for that kind of setting with many of the songs containing growing, sweltering beginnings you’d normally find in clubs. Just like “Geronimo’s Bones” begins with spectral chants and pumping drums, the center expose is a manifestation of booming beats and melodic choruses. However, the significant factor in the kind of music Reporter make is that they are also, solid musicians – the production on Time Incredible being sole proof.
Although you’d probably like a little bit more variety sprinkled in, the overall passage that this time machine takes you in is a terrific ride. If James Murphy wants to know what kind of music he’s begun to influence, Time Incredible would be a perfect place to look. For Reporter, simply being able to command your own sounds and eventually, manipulate them to your own liking is paramount and fortunately, they’ve found that. In that same sense, there is still a lot more to succeed in but for now, I’m sure they’ll take what they have so far. - Delusions of Adequacy

Choppy and angular, Reporter’s “Click Shaw” feels musically weighty – anchored by handclaps and a strolling bass line. But the vocals are decidedly airy, freeing the track from what could have strayed into something far more industrial than dance-centric. And it’s fantastic.

The track churns and moves throughout, pulsing through your ears, directly to making your ass move during the entire two minutes and twenty-two seconds it’s on. Reporter is poised to release their debut full-length album – entitled Time Incredible – on Holocene Music on August 10th. They have a few dates around the West Coast (they’re based in PDX) over the next two months, which you can check out on their MySpace page, and check out what else Holocene has to offer over at their site. - Tympanogram

Choppy and angular, Reporter’s “Click Shaw” feels musically weighty – anchored by handclaps and a strolling bass line. But the vocals are decidedly airy, freeing the track from what could have strayed into something far more industrial than dance-centric. And it’s fantastic.

The track churns and moves throughout, pulsing through your ears, directly to making your ass move during the entire two minutes and twenty-two seconds it’s on. Reporter is poised to release their debut full-length album – entitled Time Incredible – on Holocene Music on August 10th. They have a few dates around the West Coast (they’re based in PDX) over the next two months, which you can check out on their MySpace page, and check out what else Holocene has to offer over at their site. - Tympanogram

Choppy and angular, Reporter’s “Click Shaw” feels musically weighty – anchored by handclaps and a strolling bass line. But the vocals are decidedly airy, freeing the track from what could have strayed into something far more industrial than dance-centric. And it’s fantastic.

The track churns and moves throughout, pulsing through your ears, directly to making your ass move during the entire two minutes and twenty-two seconds it’s on. Reporter is poised to release their debut full-length album – entitled Time Incredible – on Holocene Music on August 10th. They have a few dates around the West Coast (they’re based in PDX) over the next two months, which you can check out on their MySpace page, and check out what else Holocene has to offer over at their site. - Tympanogram

Brand new video for “Click Shaw”, definitely one of my favorite tracks from their awesome album “Time Incredible” that is out now. The video has a Paranormal Activity feel to it and the creepy yet sexy feel it has really portrays the band as a whole. Really looking forward to more from these guys. - Big Stereo

Reporter is poised to drop their new album, Time Incredible, on Holocene Music. The first cut from the album is a glistening 80's synth-rock banger with groovy futuristic electro tones to kick it into high gear. Keep an eye out in the next month for some stellar remixes to surface as well. - Get Off The Coast

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Morning Show Host John Richards, is “Lab Test” by Reporter from their forthcoming album Time Incredible available from Holocene Music.

Portland band Reporter will lull you into a false sense of security then make you get off your ass and boogie ? and if you’re lucky serve you up some late night French fries. Reporter was born out of the ashes of experimental post punk dance rockers Wet Confetti who kept the experimental and dance-yness of their music but also incorporated synths, dreamy vocals a la front woman Alberta Poon. Poon along with Daniel Grazzini and drummer Michael McKinnon (who is also a potato purveyor via his late night French Fry cart Potato Champion) recently signed to arty Portland label Holocene Music which began as a nightclub that began promoting bands and multimedia art events and has recently morphed into a record label (they also put out Laura Gibson & Ethan Rose as well as The Shaky Hands). “Lab Test” is one of the more dreamy tunes from their upcoming release due in large part to Poon’s Feist-ish vocals and Grazzini’s astutely repetitive guitar riffs.

Folks in the Portland area can catch some all-ages Reporter action at Work/Sound this Saturday 2/27 with Wampire Diaries, Johnny X & the Files, and Fake Druggies. Check out their MySpace page for more dates and info. - KEXP