Regular readers of tQ might remember that our friends at MUTEK helpfully had someone handy with a tape recorder to capture Factory Floor’s comeback set at the 2024 edition of the festival. Well, we’re happy to report that they’ve done done the same again, this time with one of our favourite collaborative duos – James Holden and Wacław Zimpel.
The intense, beautiful and burbling set, with modular synths and saxophone dancing in all the bright ecstasy of a winter mountain stream, can be listened to via SoundCloud below.
Speaking about the performance, Holden said: “I remember I really enjoyed this one. It was the first show we’d had for a little while and felt quite flowy; a nice connected feeling.
Zimpel added: “I really loved it. It’s always quite amazing to play again after a longer break. Breaks gives a room for new ideas to grow spontaneously.”
They both also praised preceding sets by Yu Su and Valentina Magaletti for setting “a great vibe at the venue,” as Zimpeł put it, and it came on top of a fine stay in Montreal for the festival. “We immersed ourselves in the local cuisine – poutine – and then climbed the big hill. At the top, a guy with a fluorescent cargo bike and a poodle in (also fluorescent) ankle warmers turned up, pumping 90s house out of a Bluetooth speaker. We felt like we’d completed Canada, achievement unlocked.”
Holden and Zimpel have a few further dates to play this year. How do they get ready for gigs given their geographical displacement? “Beyond checking the machines still work there’s not a lot of prep to do,” said Holden. “Even in soundcheck, I think we both avoid really committing to anything – it feels like it’s much more important to leave a lot of space, help let it to be free to take new shapes. The goal with these shows is for them to flow naturally and freely.”
Zimpel continued: “When you speak the same language you don’t need so much time to prepare, the same way you don’t need to prepare to talk with a friend you haven’t seen for a long time. We have our set of tools we created while working on the album and we are constantly developing them, but the essence of what we are doing is improvised and very natural to us. So preparation is, as James said, more about checking if everything is working on technical level, but we don’t need to worry about the music.”
The two artists have dates lined up at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg (November 29); Gretchen in Berlin (November 30); and Dublin’s Metronome, NCH (February 9).
