BeatBox

Paul Dolby, aka Seiji, is one of the most well-known members of the West London production collective Bugz in the Attic. He was also one of the early innovators of an electronica subgenre known as "broken beat" or "nu jazz," melding the improvisational chops of traditional jazz with the advanced technology of today. Seiji's tracks in particular push the conventions of normal time signatures and are infused with a rare, delicate spirit and melody. He lands on the "Joypad" to DJ on Friday, March 19, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Milk, 1840 Haight (at Stanyan), S.F. Tickets are $10-12; call 474-7973 or go to www.blasthaus.com.
-- Tamara Palmer

Makers of minimal techno and whisper-soft ambient music are often and easily caricatured as shrinking violets with salon tans -- especially when they're from Finland. Not so Vladislav Delay, whose alter ego Luomo (which makes him "the man" in Italian) cranks out some of the deepest, sexiest house music in either hemisphere -- albeit with a strange, seasick bent that subjugates groove to a diffusion of collapsing beats and disintegrating vocals. Blond, rail-thin, and fond of Prada and swilling champagne from the bottle, Luomo will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about bedroom producers (and house music to boot). He spins as part of "Riot" on Thursday, March 18, at 10 p.m. at Cloud 9, 34 Seventh St. (at Market), S.F. Tickets are $10; call 355-9991.
-- Philip Sherburne

Two of the most exciting artists currently on the roster of Aphex Twin's experimental electronic label Rephlex Records are coming to town to wreck shop with their eccentric, noisy beats. Bogdan Raczynski, a Polish expatriate living in Canada who has worked with Björk on material deemed too challenging for release, matches his sonic sass with quirky body language that's hard to ignore. As one might expect from the name, Michigan's Soundmurderer (Todd Osborn) offers wonderfully caustic songs that often hearken back to the headily aggressive rave anthems of the early '90s. Also along for the ride: DJs Plastic Man (a German producer not to be confused with Canadian Richie Hawtin's Plastikman alias), Markone, Mochipet, Oonce Oonce, Com.a, and others. The Rephlex Records Tourstops in San Francisco on Saturday, March 20, from 9 p.m. till late at Club Six, 60 Sixth St. (at Jessie), S.F. Tickets are $7 before 11 p.m., $10 after; call 863-1221 or go to www.clubsix1.com.
-- Tamara Palmer