Triptych Round-Up

It says a lot about the passion of Kling Klang, that they contributed one of the best performances of this year's Triptych Festival. From out of nowhere, the Liverpool four-piece stole the show from their more illustrious counterparts with a performance that was equal parts invention and energy. There was something novel about their set-up, consisting of 3 synthesizers and drums, while their sound is a unique mix of stoner rock sludge and Kraftwerk style electro. The drummer was, quite frankly, fantastic while some of the monsterous guitar riffs had the walls rattling. Most impressive, though, was the sheer passion of this young band as their label boss, Stuart Braithwaite, looked on proudly.

65 Days of Static are unbelievebly talented musicians, there can be no doubting that. Some of the rythmns the drummer was pounding out were outrageoeus. An inventive blend of glitch electronica and precise post-rock, they sound something like a collaboration between Mogwai and Aphex Twin. It was all remarkably impressive at the start. Things, however, got a bit tedious towards the end with the band relying on the same formula throughout the whole set. Not a particularly bad thing, but a little more variety could have propelled this performance to a higher standard. Having said that, they certainly know how to channel the enormous amounts of energy they project and I can see why people swear by 65 DOS. They are certainly a different kettle of fish, but perhaps they suffer from trying to cram too much of a good thing into the one set.

While both 65 DOS and Kling Klang were certainly exciting, the same cannot be said about The Cinematic Orchestra. A performance that would cure even the most extreme cases of insomnia, everything was carefully measured and, therefore, soulless. The musicianship was impeccable, but this was a problem. It left you almost praying for a mistake, a sense of a human touch. But at £18 per ticket, I left feeling that listening to the CD rather than going to see The Cinematic Orchestra live, would have been a better option. Considering they have a new album to promote, this was one lacklustre (and boring) show.

Points of Interest

1. Mogwai, despite a prolific output in 2006 (Mr.Beast, Zidane, The Fountain), appear to be back in the studio according to their website.

2. Planet Mu have details on their 2007 release schedule.

3. 65 Days of Static have a few live dates up here, including a few at Scotland's wonderful Triptych Festival.

4. You can watch Arcade Fire perform "Intervention" on Saturday Night Live here.

5. Portishead previewed an unmaed song in a low-key performance in Bristol, according to Pitchfork

6. Hidden Shoal Recordings have pre-released Wes Willenbring's "Somewhere Someone Else", which should be of interest to fans of Eluvium, Stars of the Lid, The Dead Texan and Labradford.

7. The Strange Death of Liberal England recorded a session for the Steve Lamacq show on BBC Radio 1. Stream it here. Pre-order their forthcoming single here.

8. Kingbastard has remastered and uploaded another record, this time it is his "5" ep, download it for free here.

9. Pre-order Vessels forthcoming single "Yuki/Forever The Optimist" here.

10. SITE NEWS: in the coming week I will be posting exclusive mp3's from 4 up and coming artists in and round in electronica genre. I am hoping to now make this article a monthly event.