Argiflex, a.k.a. Curtis Lehr, is an experimental neo-rave artist based out of Cleveland, Mississippi, currently getting ready for a tour across the Eastern United States. The tour is in support of their upcoming release, Throatless, coming out on Bedlam Tapes.
“It came together right after I released Cybersmog in December. Max that runs the label contacted me asking if I wanted to put something out . . . so I started pulling stuff together to figure out which songs to record,” said Lehr. “They’re going to do a 120 tape run of the cassette, which they’re calling their biggest release yet.”
The cassette features ten tracks in total, five Argiflex originals accompanied by five remixes by artists affiliated with Bedlam Tapes.
“The project kept building in scope,” said Lehr. “I ended up putting tons and tons of work into the actual mastering and maxing it up.”
Lehr included a real treat for those familiar with a certain short-lived, Oxford, Mississippi venue.
“There’s actually a live recording I did at The Wall in Oxford, rest in peace,” said Lehr.
Argiflex is an electronic artist unlike most you have seen. On their table of equipment you won’t find any turntables, be it Vinyl, CD, or MP3. Instead, you’ll see a multichannel mixer, analog synthesizers and drum machines, and the “box of death,” that houses all the effects and filters that help bring their set to life.
Born Curtis Lehr, the producer started out working on just a computer as many in this genre do. This changed after picking up a piece of hardware gear.
“On the way back from a trip I picked up a drum machine,” said Lehr. “Then my friend Zander said I could use this synthesizer sequencer thing he had. I started doing music with just those two things and it kept building from there. It just got expansive . . . now I’m really efficient with it and can get the results that I want.”
The set up that Lehr uses for live performance has stayed mostly the same over the last four years.
“I’ve really liked it because it is really extensive in the sounds it can make while still being really efficient to set up,” said Lehr. “The first thing I recorded with it was that split with Vexadrem. Then I just kept playing live with it and honing it in the studio. For my senior project at Delta State I used it to record Cybersmog and pretty much did the same thing for Throatless that is coming out.”
The tour will span 18 dates covering the east half of the country.
“It’s pretty much a sea of six-hour drives,” said Lehr.
Joining Argiflex on the road will be fellow Cleveland resident Pasmoi, a harsh noise artist.
Traveling on the road with all the gear they have would be less than feasible, so some trimming had to be done.
“I’m just going to take what is on my table for live shows, and a bass amp in case we need to reinforce the sound,” said Lehr. “Maybe a milk crate of some lighting gear. Pasmoi is bringing their harsh noise set up, but that fits in a suitcase.”
Seeing Argiflex live is seeing a mad scientist at work. The sounds are aggressive, unique, and likely coming to a town near you.
Catch Argiflex in Oxford, Mississippi, on November 2 playing a house show at The Hideout. For more updates go to argiflex.com 
