Last Friday, the Quietus were very excited to be given the opportunity to book the line-up for upstairs at the Fred Perry Subsonic party at the Garage, which also featured The Horrors and Toy.
We took it as an opportunity to book two of our favourite current musicians – Bobby Krlic, whose self-titled debut album as The Haxan Cloak reached No 4 in our albums of the year list, and techno producer/Perc Trax label head Perc, whose excellent (and perfectly) titled Wicker & Steel album reached No 5. Both have featured very highly in our listening over the last few months.
In the earlier part of the evening, pre-doors opening, Krlic’s soundcheck, at blistering volume, sent us running for our earplugs (and apparently could be heard over Toy’s soundcheck in the far larger main room downstairs). His set later on in the evening, immediately after Toy had finished – probably a good thing for the building’s sound levels – was just as involving. Far more synthetic, texture-wise, than the sparse cello-and-violin compositions of his album, it landed somewhere between the droney dance music of Shackleton and the paranoid loops of Krlic’s Observatory EP. All played out at suitably enveloping volume, his newer music bodes well for new Haxan-related developments in 2012.
Perc stepped up straight away after Krlic left the stage, and thanks to clashing with The Horrors for the first hour of his 2 1/2 hour set found the room initially rather sparsely attended. Rather differently from the quite angular, jarring mechanistic techno of Wicker & Steel, Ali Wells’ DJ set was buoyant throughout on an ever-present rumble of sub-bass. The overall effect was energising (especially for the Quietus staff and friends, who did a good job of filling the sometimes underpopulated floor). The appearance of Nitzer Ebb’s ferocious ‘Join In The Chant’ added a welcome dose of stern, as did the long awaited hi-hat chatter of Shed’s stunning recent ‘EQD005B’, one of the last tracks of the night. Thanks to all at Fred Perry Subsonic Live for having us along and of course to Haxan Cloak and Perc for playing. The next Fred Perry Subsonic Live takes place on February 17th 2012, and is curated by tweed-wearing maestro Mr Andrew Weatherall himself. Go here for tickets and line-up news.
