I listen to weird electronic music by Aphex Twin and Witchman and Mu-Ziq to try and prepare myself for another evening of non-stop glitchy entertainment at Glitchnight 8. The Arc Bar as usual is dark and colourful, with visuals projected onto the wall and ceiling.
Loxodonta has something a bit different up his sleeve tonight, beginning with a haunting melody on the theramin, drawn out and delayed while he pulls some scarey noises from his Korg synthesiser. Two drumkits sit empty and menacing while the atmospherics swirl in the darkness. Eventually Loxodonta gives the nod and the drums stools are occupied.
The two drummers have spent much of the previous week locked in a light-hearted battle of boasts and name-calling. Now it is time to put the macho posturing to the test. Drummer Rarg clearly wins on the shirt front... And we're off.
It starts slowly, a sedate rock rhythm rolling under the drones and squeals of the synth. The drummers trade conversations and paradiddles, moving into other rhythms as the fancy takes them. Local music/events rag venue hates this for being over-indulgent, tantamount to having two lead guitarrists and no singer, but the rhythms that develop are just mesmerising. They work really well together and while it doesn't turn into a full-on prog wig-out I know that that's not the point of this. Loxodonta gives the signal and it all dies down to a satisfying close.
Polestar fills the space left by Chemical Dub Theory admirably, with bassy laptop dance beats redolent of early Aphex Twin and other such minimalist bneatniks. His set wakes everyone up from the Loxodonta-induced trance and builds the evening nicely for Fred Moth who finishes proceding with a great mix of synthy basslines, complicated guitar-soloing and a pirate hat. He has a huge grin as he dances around his noise boxes, occasionally riffing a little melody on the guitar and twiddling knobs. The music moves from loop-based quirky dance music to a more drum and bass - mashed up jungle affair, just right for 1am on a Thursday
I stumble home, happy and slightly deaf, the sound of four crash cymbals going off at the same time still ringing in my ears.
This looks way tight ! Would love some info on these nights !