Dublab's Ambient All-Nighter 'Tonalism' Headed To Portland

Los Angeles' greatest (only?) non-profit radio collective, Dublab, has just announced that its annual Tonalism festival will take place on March 6 at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, as part of the school's Reed Arts Week 2010. That's only eight days away, which leaves just enough time for L.A. ambient music heads to score, fluff up their pillows and sleeping bags, and load up the station wagon for a West Coast road trip of Kerouacian proportions.

Bands on hand for the free all-night event (6:00 p.m. - 6:00 a.m.) include Portland's own excellently placid Grouper and drone-steeped Dublab super-group Golden Hits, among others. DJ sets come from the usual characters mostly -- 'lab founders Ale and Frosty, along with Jimmy Tamborello (Postal Service/Dntel/James Figurine) to name a few -- and trippy visuals will be provided in part by The Masses director/artist Matt Amato with local color (nyuk nyuk) provided by the Oregon Painting Society.

Though Tonalism has been slowly working its way up the coast, with last year's sleepy shindig going down at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, its origins are decidedly Southland. Here's a clip from the inaugural bash on the Santa Monica Pier in 2008:

Dublab offers intrepid travelers a chance to "dream to deep drones and space waves in a stunning surround sound/sight environment." Dig it: