On 16th December, The Horrors and Toy are to play shows at London’s Garage for the Fred Perry Subsonic Christmas Party. The Horrors, of course, need very little introduction – this gig presents a great opportunity to see them play tracks from this year’s Skying album in an unusually tiny setting. And Toy are one of the only truly promising guitar bands we’ve heard this year, a London quintet who are gaining a deserved reputation for their brain-churning psychedelia.
Meanwhile, we’re excited to annouce that the Quietus have been asked to host the second room. We’re proud to present some darkened treats in the form of The Haxan Cloak and Perc, both of whom have been responsible for some of our favourite music of the year.
The Haxan Cloak’s self-titled debut arrived with an intriguing lack of fanfare around the middle of this year. A sparse and unsettling listen, its string drones and creeping sense of dread provided a welcome dose of midsummer gloom, firmly in line with similar explorers Demdike Stare and Raime. The live sets we’ve seen of his have been different – busier and more rhythm driven – but equally intense.
As well as being one of the most evocative album titles of the year, Perc’s Wicker & Steel has been one of 2011’s standout records. Ali Wells’ take on techno is stripped-back and monochrome, and refuses to remain dogmatically fixed to its parent genre. Instead he draws in influences from early industrial, coldwave, ambient and drone, creating tracks that seamlessly veer from passages of threatening ambience to firestorms of percussion and distortion. His DJ set promises similarly intense contrasts between light and shade, and constant, driving dancefloor energy.
And to top it all off, we’ll be DJing before, between and after acts AND update our friends from the Heavenly Jukebox will be playing cosmic psychedelia for when the post-Threads rural apocalypse upstairs gets too much.
Visit the Subsonic event page for details of how to get your hands on tickets.
