Discover Top Posts Tagged with #matt lord

Shed Seven - Instant Pleasures (Liberator)

Shed Seven – Instant Pleasures (Liberator)

Former 1990s Britpop darlings Shed Seven return with Instant Pleasures, their first new album in 16 years. The York-based band, led by the uber-cool frontman Rick Witter, were a dominant UK singles force in the late 1990’s, with a passionate fanbase affectionately known as, “Shed Heads”. This will be their fifth studio album and sees the welcome return of their original lead guitarist Paul…

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#13th floor #album review #Instant Pleasures #Matt Lord #Shed Seven

Billy Bragg - Bridges Not Walls (Cooking Vinyl)

Billy Bragg – Bridges Not Walls (Cooking Vinyl)

Billy Bragg releases a six song mini album Bridges Not Walls through his enduring long-term relationship with Independent record label Cooking Vinyl. His first studio album of original songs since 2013’s critically applauded Tooth & Nail. Bragg again picks up the baton and runs with the causes that make him boil, pointing his aim at Trump’s America, instability in Europe and the rising racist…

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#13th floor #album review #Billy Bragg #Bridges Not Walls #Matt Lord

Twenty years since squaring up to the big guns of music at the time and triumphantly claiming the highly-respected Mercury Prize for best British album of 1997. Roni Size takes the anniversary of New Forms on the road with a series of Australasian dates, embracing the legacy of the album with stunning visuals to match.

For many at the time, including myself, the album brought the evolving sound of urban UK to the centre stage. With Jungle/DnB roots firmly situated in the concrete hubs of Bristol and London. The sound was a stark contrast to what was being pumped out at the time, -Britpop was still in full swing, the Spice Girls had taken over everything and OK Computer had just been released.

Arriving at K Road’s The Studio somewhat late, I had the pleasure of catching the support act Chiccoreli and home grown vocal talent Tali, whipping the dance thirsty crowd up-ready for the main event. Clearly a major talent in her own right, Tali gave an energetic performance with the beats spun by Chiccoreli. Thrilled to be performing on home soil, sharing the stage with Size whom she described as, “her old boss”, she was the perfect choice of support.

As Tali wrapped it up, the large rear projection screen behind the stage displayed a five-minute countdown timer. In true New Years Eve style, she led the crowd into a euphoric ten second countdown introducing a hooded Size to the Auckland stage. His stage set up, from what I could see, comprised of two laptops, each with controller keyboards side by side and a mixer centre stage. I guess there was a few other bits of hardware which I couldn’t see. The key thing here was he triggering stems, loops, samples and recreating sequences on the fly to timecoded visuals behind him. Highly impressive. I have ultimate respect for electronic artists who can nail it live and make it look so easy. A true master at his art.

It’s great to see how embraced this sub-genre of dance music is on these shores. Its appeal obviously still fresh judging by the higher ratio of young to old in the crowd. This certainly didn’t feel like a nostalgic trip down memory lane. When he spun the intro of the more commercially recognised track Brown Paper Bag, the crowd jeered with respect, with their one arms raised in the air, he then kicked it into gear dropping the bass which created a frenzied dance of appreciation.

The sound system did a fine job dealing with some deep, fat bass action as the subs pounded your body into submission throughout the hour and a half set. In-between cuts, he would sometimes jump on a dub-delayed microphone encouraging the crowd, clearly both parties loving the vibe. The visuals looked great, crystal clear, bright, with evolving landscapes of colours and movement proving a fine interpretation of the sound.

Nearing the end of the set, Tali and others joined him at the rear of stage dancing along with the crowd. Jumping back on the mic, he made some thankyou’s before telling the crowd to, “get down to the sound of this last number” to which he introduced the sound of Bristol contemporaries Massive Attack’s majestic, Unfinished Sympathy to a DnB mashup mix. It was a fitting end to a great night of beats. Clearly in good spirits, Size then dished out generous pouring’s of his drink of choice to the front row of the audience. A great celebration to a plate shifting album, I’m sure we’ll see him again.

Matt Lord

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Ruben Raj:

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Roni Size – The Studio October 27, 2017 Twenty years since squaring up to the big guns of music at the time and triumphantly claiming the highly-respected Mercury Prize for best British album of 1997.

#13th floor #Auckland #concert review #Matt Lord #NZ Tour #Photos #Roni Size #Ruben Raj #Studio

Beck - Colors (Capitol)

Beck – Colors (Capitol)

Genre hopping changeling Beck has just released his new album Colors to the masses. Jointly produced with the Grammy Award winning Greg Kurstin, whose recent works involve such high-profile artists as Adele, Foo Fighters and most recently, Liam Gallagher. (more…)

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#13th floor #album review #Beck #Colors #Matt Lord

Liam Gallagher - As You Were (Warners)

Liam Gallagher – As You Were (Warners)

As You Were is Liam Gallagher’s first solo album, comprised of 12 tracks, 15 tracks if you’ve opted for the Deluxe Edition. It has a mixture of co-write credits and different producers across the tracks, but this doesn’t make for an incoherent collection of tunes. (more…)

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#13th floor #album review #AS You Were #Lian Gallagher #Matt Lord