“Sheffield gig promoters need to work together more often. Drowned in Sound and X Ray Horse presented a perfect storm of eclectic bookings and musical innovation, perfectly crowned by typically genre-busting DJ sets from X Ray DJs along with regular collaborator Zxodiac (f.k.a. Baronvonbadd). There was so much music that much of it can only get a sentence or two (sorry).
Blood Sport are young, noisy and fun. They play ‘agro-beat’. Yes, that’s afrobeat, but with more aggression. I especially enjoyed hearing that The Audacious Art Experiment have released their debut on a cassette tape. Go see. Next up was Hourglass Sea, a producer from Bradford. I’d heard his music described as chillwave; I’d call it the happiest trip hop I’ve heard in a while. There’s an enormous sense of scale to it. Deep, heavy synths are overlaid with live guitar pumping out non-stop power solos. This music could soundtrack any 80s movie montage you care to mention.
Breton are from South London (not France) and make music that’s not far from the style of Dutch Uncles or Gallops – heavy on riffs and layers of detail, but with a large electronic component that adds an extra level of bassy psychedelia. They are a perplexing band, who brought guitars and drums on stage but hardly played them at all. Instead, beats were created with drum pads, and they played trigger pads like keyboards. Performing in near darkness, with faces hidden by hoods, they seemed like they were making every effort to straddle the very thin line between being a traditional live act and being a purely electronic act.
Despite all this oddness, they made music that was both cerebral and moving, and a real joy to experience. Despite all this great music, the capacity audience were clearly all here to see Ghostpoet. With a Mercury Prize nomination already under his belt, it’s clear he’s going a long way. I’m pretty certain he won’t be appearing in a venue this size again any time soon.
He performed with a live guitarist and drummer. The sound at the start was unexpectedly psychedelic, with the guitarist producing pedal-heavy riffs drenched in reverb and delay to create something hugely beautiful and uplifting. The drummer’s beats were in no way what I’d call classic hip hop, featuring a heavy swing on the ride cymbal, fluid toms and lacking a clear 4/4 beat. If anything, I’d say it shimmered. The jazz influences present (though not obvious on the album) really came to the fore. Meanwhile, ‘Lines’ descended into an unexpected level of Squarepusher-esque electronic anarchy.
Ghostpoet himself is a charismatic yet humble performer (the contrast with Jehst’s histrionics at Tramlines this summer was palpable) with the appearance and manner of a wandering preacher, delivering slow, storytelling raps with a beautifully melodic cadence to his voice. He reminded me of an itinerant Maxi Jazz, creating an urban soundtrack to ‘On The Road’. ‘Survive It’ picked up the energy to become a huge singalong. He’s achieved something that very few other hip hop artists have managed: a completely unique yet totally accessible sound. I can’t wait to hear what he does next.
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