Boards
Kayo Dot at Cafe oto, London, Friday 11th september.
Gravid Hands Presents:
Kayo Dot
Matthew Bourne (solo Memory Moog set)
Defibrillators
Friday 11th September, Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, Dalston, London E8 3DL
£10/£8 cheaplist available in advance; register names at gravidlist@gmail.com
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We feel privileged to present the first UK appearance of Boston mavericks Kayo Dot. Their last album, Blue Lambency Downward, was released on the Los Angeles experimental heavy music label Hydra Head, and ironically does more than any of their previous output to transcend the often-applied ‘metal’ tag. Myriad influences and multifarious instrumentation combine to produce a record of swirling, eerie majesty, full of startlingly original orchestration, poignant vocal harmonies and constantly challenging arrangements. The constantly-shifting soundscapes take in elements of jazz and classical music and filter them through a Zorn-esque modern composition aesthetic, and a command of dynamic range which belies founder Toby Driver’s background in heavy music. The resulting pieces are executed with such ease and erudition that any attempt to tease out the shreds of the band’s influences becomes futile and unnecessary as one becomes lost in the disturbing beauty and sheer wonder. Expect an entrancing live rendition of tracks from Blue Lambency Downward, plus earlier releases on Holy Roar and John Zorn’s Tzadik label.
Toby Driver - acoustic, electric, 12-string, baritone, and bass guitars, soprano clarinet, voice, piano, organ, gamelan instruments, analog synth, laptop mellotron
Mia Matsumiya - violin, voice, mellotron, synth bass
David Bodie - drumset
Daniel Means - woodwinds, guitar
Patrick Wolff - woodwinds, keyboards
Terran Olson - keyboards, woodwinds
"Utterly exquisite, utterly alive, utterly apocalyptic, this is an album with which you may well fall hopelessly in love."
The Wire: review of Choirs Of The Eye (Tzadik 2003)
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Award-winning pianist Matthew Bourne has a CV as long and distinguished as they come. Recent endeavours include Eight Broken Pianos: a series of concerts played on found instruments in various states of disrepair; Bilbao syndrome: a crushing, disorientating metal assault for which Bourne writes all the music, and World Sanguine Report: a twisted vaudeville jazz noise outfit. The latter, fronted by Andrew Plummer, recently released their album ‘Third One Rises’ on Gravid Hands. Described by The Wire as “the bastard child of John Shuttleworth and Cecil Taylor”, Bourne is constantly pushing the envelope of his playing and searching for new modes of expression; this solo show will feature a performance given solely on a vintage Memory Moog synthesizer. Expect otherworldly sounds, incredible musicality and a dose of perverse humour.
Utilising drums, keys, twisted noise apparatus and a much abused wii remote, Defibrillators perform improvised pieces of shifting, textural avant-noise. The duo is made up of Geisha Vocalist/Guitarist Anton Maiof and Hunting Lodge drummer/percussionist Seth Cooke. Live, the pair conjure a maelstrom of controlled rage whilst maintaining a genuine dialogue underpinned by a keen appreciation of dynamics. Their stunning new album will be released on Gravid Hands later this year.
www.myspace.com/defibrillators
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