Nosaj Thing

Terrace Club has a reputation for nabbing bands right before they get tagged “the next big thing.” This Saturday, though, it looks like the club’s got someone who’s already jumped that hurdle: DJ Nosaj Thing is well on his way to “big thing” status, plain and simple.

The 23-year-old Los Angeles native has been causing quite a stir in electronica circles over the past few months. Acclaimed acts like Daedalus and Flying Lotus collaborated with Nosaj Thing in 2008, and more significantly, Radiohead commissioned the shy Asian-American to do a remix of “Reckoner,” a single off their latest album “In Rainbows.”

As for music critics, they’ve been utterly unable to restrain themselves, heaping praise on the poor fellow and burdening him with comparisons to artists like DJ Shadow and Boards of Canada. If you’ve never heard either of those names before, then know that in the world of electronica, that’s basically like comparing someone to God.

It’s not hard to see what people are so excited about. One quick listen to Nosaj Thing’s single “Aquarium,” and it’s clear the song heralds the emergence of a substantial new talent. It’s a haunting track, with slow hip-hop beats grounding a fragile constellation of whispered vocals, nervous synths and intimate acoustic guitar samples. Little vinyl scratches pop up here; little tweaks of keyboard there; even the occasional tinkling triangle. But it’s the seamlessness of the track that is most striking, considering its complex and delicate construction — more is more, if you will.

The works of down-tempo hip-hop producers like RJD2 spring to mind, but there is a wistful maturity and astonishing emotional range to Nosaj Thing’s work that places it light-years away from the hip-hop genre. The mere idea of an MC spitting rhymes over such intricate and nuanced musical tapestries is blasphemous. My only worry is that the subtleties of his work will get lost in the loud and crammed space of the Terrace dance floor.

A word of warning then: This ain’t no rave. Unless Nosaj Thing’s undergone a significant artistic makeover in the past week, the beats will be slow, the mood will be melancholy, and the most you’ll be doing with your body is bobbing your head. Which, to be honest, should make for a nice change from the usual “Britney-Justin-Britney again” playlists that dominate the Street on Saturday nights.

Oh, and this will be one of his last live shows before he drops his as-yet-untitled debut album. When all the cool kids are talking about the record in a month, you can drop the “I saw him live” card, and maybe you’ll become a cool kid, too.