It was great to see my friend Candice's vocal-only project Rosa Reaper. It was a swirling, disorienting cacophony of eerie melody and disconcerting growls.
The last few performances of crys cole I've seen have been fucking jaw-dropping. Even playing in a noisy, grimey bar filled with clinking bottles, yammering locals and the loudest goddamned bar fridge ever, cole still delivered a transcendent performance. Using a series of springs, contact mics, voice and steel brushes, her performance was nuanced, textured and powerful. What continues to amaze me is how well placed each sonic element is, delicate feedback, textured noise, hushed vocals and powerful bass feedback.
Finally, Australia's Oren Ambarchi delivered a mammoth performance. His trademark airless bass tones were pummelling, and his ability to shape tones in bewildering, beautiful ways is always impressive. His set culminated with an all-encompassing, fuzzed-out guitar drone looped and feeding back while Ambarchi took to the drum kit, delivering a kinetic, free-jazz tinged percussive onslaught. At one point, his kick drum was so powerful that it vibrated the strings on his abandoned Les Paul, sounding almost like ducked compression, the drones swirling and roaring back even louder after each kick. Stunning.
Oren Ambarchi.
crys cole
Rosa Reaper
Current listening: Earth - Primitive and Deadly; Brian Eno - Music for Airports; Doom - Born Like This; Autechre - Exai.
