Tonight there will be lift-off, as Igloo Music presents Cosmos, a space-themed dancing celebration, at Wastelands.

Headlining the event will be Mike Parker, a Buffalo-resident who has performed on a global level.


In the ever-evolving world of genre terminology, Parker coins his stylistic sound as "voodoo techno."

"It's more minimal than other forms of 'club' music," Parker said. "I'm attracted to the abstraction of it and the spaces between the sounds."

In addition to writing music and performing, he is also a teacher at Daemen College and Niagara County Community College where he instructs drawing and print making. Art, in any form of medium, is an inclusive form that relates back into everything he does.

"Everything I do visually ties in because I'm always thinking about music and the way I present it," Parker said. He designs and prints the record jackets for his label, Geophone, which he started in 1997 to release his music with a more involved and personal creative direction.

He became enveloped in the life when he was just a teenager. "I bought my first synthesizer, a KORG Mono/Poly, when I was in high school. I've been addicted ever since."

"I've played in many countries across Europe in the past few years. Also, my performances in Japan have been a creative inspiration for me. It's such a beautiful country. I recently contributed an ambient track to a CD compilation called Composure. This compilation, by various artists, was made to raise relief money for victims of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011," Parker said.

Among many aspiring and growing artists in the Queen City some have a confident hope and diligence toward the Buffalo music scene, whereas some are struck by wanderlust and feel a career is only manageable elsewhere. For a DJ and producer who has traveled to the Land of the Rising Sun, across the U.S., Europe and more, why remain in the 716?

"My teaching career, affordable living, the art scene, and my friends," he said.

Mike Parker loves music because, "It's the most abstract of all art forms. And it helps chase away the blues."

In addition, Diskomaster will be hailing in from Syracuse. Igloo's Paul Kuenzi, and birthday boy, will also be performing, along with Gene Linet, J.P. Freedom and Ryan Liddell.

A costume contest will commence, so dress your best. C.P. Abbott Photography will be there to capture the madness.