Plaid
Well, winter is definitely here and baby it's cold outside. I arrive at the Arts Centre expecting to see that only a few of the usual electronic music crowd have braved the cold and am pleasantly surprised to find that the bar is already filling up. Hmmm, maybe this gig won't be as lonely as I thought it would be.
Back with some new material after an extended hiatus are local duo Sunda Arc, who kick the night off with a beautifully paced jazz-infused electronica set that starts slowly and builds in scope and tempo to an absolute stomper of a closer with a euphoric climax. They are as good as any local opening act that I have seen here at NAC and I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for them in the future.
The main hall fills up nicely during Sunda Arc and remains packed for the rest of the night. Looks like a bit of snow and some arctic winds aren't enough to keep the fine folks of Norwich from having a dance on a Friday night.
Mainstays of the Norwich music scene, James Ferguson and Mark Jennings are up next under their BROADS moniker. The rich, reverb heavy, repetitive drones of their set bring to mind a synth led version of Mogwai or even Vangelis at his best, albeit rough around the edges at times in the vein of early Add N to (X). Surrounded by synthesisers, the two of them play mostly live rather than cueing through Ableton Live or other such laptop wizardry, helping to give it all a warm, fun, fuzzy feel and it is the absolute antithesis of the cold, harsh precision that you can get from some electronic acts.
Fun electronic music is what Plaid do better than anyone. Most of tonight's set is taken from last year's The Digging Remedy, which is more Detroit techno influenced than their earlier more playful work, and although it seems like more traditional IDM in the vein of Autechre when heard on record, when played live it feels far warmer and more dancefloor friendly than I expected. This is in no small part down to the fact that Ed and Andy have brought along long term collaborator Benet Walsh to provide live guitars to the show, giving a rich feel to the performance. The three of them are set up behind a screen made up of 40 triangles with visuals mapped onto it. Whilst not quite as complex or visually arresting as Amon Tobin's ISAM or DJ Shadow's Shadowsphere, it's a nice twist on the standard visual setup that we see from so many shows of this type.
Do Matter is all brooding menace to start the show, but from then on it's all danceable beats and beautifully layered melodies. With an appearance from fan favourite Eyen from 2001's Double Figure and a rousing version of new track and instant classic Clock to round off the night, it's all unmistakably Plaid and exactly what you'd want from them. Strangely they come back on for a blissed out version of album closer Wen, which, whilst undoubtedly beautiful, feels a little anticlimactic after the high point of Clock that preceded it.
As I head out into the cold night air I can't help but feel warmed, having just seen the best that Norwich has to offer and IDM royalty all rolled into one enjoyable night. Or maybe it was just the residual heat of a packed Arts Centre. Who knows? But this was a great way to kick off 2017. Bring on more, it certainly looks like the people of Norwich are up for it.
