The Sexbots, Kuroiparabola, The AKABANE VULGARS ON STRONG BYPASS

The Sexbots are Ilima Considine- who sets her inimitable vocals against electronic soundscapes from around the world.  During a band breakup, Considine was approached by several beatmakers who wanted a vocalist without the commitment of a band.  The Sexbots brings to life a series of e-mail collaborations, carefully curated and art-directed by Considine- who performs alone.  Surprisingly, the unknown band with no label, no management, and before the first show was even played outside Portland -managed to chart on CMJ with their first album.  Since then, Considine has toured and released a no-budget music video for every song- entire albums can be listened to on youtube, accompanied by images of the bespectacled singer falling out of trees, dancing naked, or being repeatedly killed by her children’s stuffed tigers(the children can often be seen frolicking in the background).  Along with an undefinable and shifting accent, Considine’s appearance is largely ambiguous- often androgynous, ethnically unclear(Irish-Chinese), with big eyes/tiny stature/theatrical gestures making it unclear how old or how serious she is about anything.  She is entirely serious about the emotional inner world she charts- of a woman vacillating between love and sex, between need and regret.  With a stage presence verging on performance art, Considine has received grants from both the Oregon Arts Commission and the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

The music has always incorporated spoken word, weird samples, and the odd song structures of a classically trained violinist turned indie vocalist- but the third album "Junk Sick" is unabashedly art pop with the heavy nostalgia that children of the 80’s have for smashed and deconstructed Nintendo sounds, primitive synths, cassettes, and shitty mics.  The first song of the album, “The Only Thing”,  sound recalls Nightrider, Bladerunner, Mario Bros., and Japanese poptarts all at once.  This album was funded by a Kickstarter campaign whose rewards included "inappropriately long hugs".