one of the tightest, most professional faster than sound events so far – a game of two
parts with the seemingly very 'famous' working together and the ‘young ones’
going all experimental and off-piste. The focus of the evening and their
residency was rethinking/reimagining the Britten folk songs. http://www.fasterthansound.com/ I have always felt that he had hijacked and in
some way ‘un-folked’ them. The discussion held before the event and chaired by Jonathan Reekie was an affirmation that the folk
songs are not overtly loved by all. For me the evening re-established and re-contextualised
them within a folk tradition, even or specifically that there was a large electronic presence -
techno-folk. Highlights were a drumming duel/duet
with South London Ordinance, Alex Thomas and Sam Wilson – a reinterpretation of
Widow. Although less dangerously experimental
and closer to the original, Alexis Taylor and Green Gartside gave a very
intimate performance although quite mournful it was as if they were in your
living room – quite beautiful, Lemady was truly sublime? Listening to Green
Gartsides voice took me straight back to 1983 and got me thinking how Scritti-Politti
was a folk band for the 80s.
Meanwhile – some film recommendations – for a
brainlessly stupid film experience I recommend a double bill of Pacific Rim http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663662/
(large robots crashing with larger
monsters – the script not troubling a sheet of A4 paper and white house down http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334879/
(just unnecessary but it will be all okay).
