Rock and Pop: Gig reviews - Four Tet at the Dome • Scandanavian band Ulver at Scala
Published: 18 February 2010
FOUR Tet’s ability to make people dance using only a laptop and a few cables is well known. But what had made last Friday’s Tufnell Park Dome bill so mouth-watering was Joy Orbison, the support act. His inescapable single, Hyph Mngo, was the dance record of 2009.
So there must have been a twinge of regret when Joy called in sick.
Fortunately, Norfolk’s Nathan Fake stepped in.
Both he and Four Tet, who performed from the sound desk in the middle of the dance-floor, gave a salutary reminder that knob-twiddling and chin-stroking are not necessarily the same thing.
Tom Brooks-Pollock
FROM the land of cold winter nights and fairy-tales of trolls and kraken comes a band that’s not afraid to use their background as inspiration for their music – Ulver.
At Scala last week the crowd got to witness their unique live set.
It’s a dark, magical mix of electric sounds, heavy drums, guitars and lyrics inspired by folk tales and traditional Scandinavian literature.
The band use quiet, mystical sounds as an interlude between the heavy music, each emphasising the other. The audience seemed to appreciate it, particularly highlights Operator and Porn Piece.
Charlotte Sundberg