The night started off with a back-to-back set from CF's Missaw and Schemeboy from Adverse Camber, a great combination of glitchy soundscapes, hard-hitting percussion and a variety of soundscapes playing nicely to an almost totally empty room. What can you expect, it was 9.30. That said, both guys sounded great, and by the time Dolphin came on at 10, enough punters had wandered in to make it feel like a going concern.
Now, Dolphin has been known for a while for his Gabba/Breakcore vibe, complete balls out aggression, but was down on the roster as playing an "electronica" set. I was unsure as to what to expect, but he hadn't even reached the end of the first song before my jaw was floorbound. While there was a huge range of tempo and atmosphere over the course of his hour, it was all tied together with huge swathes of digital stomps and screeches. In terms of texture, the act it most brought to mind was Ital-tek - a range of different noises combining to make hard hitting synthetic drums and pads - but while Ital-tek can sometimes be a little monotonous rhythmically, Dolphin's tunes barely settled. Despite being almost overwhelmed in edits, he never lost the groove, and by the time he shifted up a notch to more familiar gabba-esque speeds, the rapidly growing crowd were starting to shift as well.
Then Richard Devine came on. And blew my tiny little mind.
I'd already tried to charge Richard and Puzzleweasel for entry on the door before someone pointed out who they were (not at all embarrassing, honest), so I can't claim to have been massively familiar with his work, although I knew to expect excessive digital manipulation and an almost total lack of recognisable melody. What I wasn't expecting was how HUGE it would sound, nor how propulsive the (admittedly abstract) beats would be. Running two laptops with Ableton, Traktor, and a host of other hardware and controllers - including a nifty little Pioneer scratchamathingummy - Devine conjured up some of the most ungodly noises i've ever encountered. And i've seen Papa Roach. The fact that whilst he did so, his head banged back and forth and sideways like some demented epileptic only enamoured him to me more.
We'd put Richard on at 11, so that people who came to see him could make the last tube home if they wished. Sadly, the vast majority did just that, meaning they missed most of Puzzelweasel's set. A shame, because while perhaps a little less wilfully esoteric, it was just as frantic and just as much of an incentive to get on the dancefloor - though by that point, the days exertions were taking me down a notch. When I heard that Dean Neutek had cancelled his set due to technical issues, the lure of a cab home was just too great.
So, the summary? Richard Devine - Brilliant. Dolphin - phenomenal. Thursday nights...meh.
www.thecentrifuge.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/dolphinski
http://www.richard-devine.com
http://www.myspace.com/puzzleweasel
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