Issue 99 / May 2019

DMA’S
+ Belako
Mountford Hall – 12/04
My first thought as I stand in the queue outside the Guild is
that I have potentially missed the dress code. I’m the only one (as
far as I can see) without a pair of Adidas Gazelles on. As I step
inside the hall itself, I’m immediately transported back to my school
days; the room’s fixtures have an assembly hall feel to it – it’s very
reflective of the students who make up the majority of the crowd.
Not to forget the odd mum and dad in the mix, who’ve probably
taken the opportunity to relive their youth through a band so
obviously influenced by the Britpop movement of the 90s.
Being a sold-out show, the room is full to the hilt.
The atmosphere builds up quickly as the rowdy crowd
unapologetically make no attempt to contain their excitement.
First to grace the stage are the Spanish post-punk quartet
BELAKO. Their effortlessly powerful sound and confident stage
presence charges the crowd in the early sequences of the
evening. They only serve to heighten the energy as we eagerly
anticipate the Australian trio.
Not long after the end of Belako’s set begin the hearty chants
for DMA’s. Pints are being chucked, cigarettes being lit – it’s
unadulterated. It’s a Friday night, and everyone is determined
to have a good time, even at the cost of their bar purchases. At
this point we are all well and truly packed in like sardines as the
crowd slowly heaves its way closer to the front for a good view of
the boys in all their glory.
Then the usual announcement of dimmed lights brings an
eruption from the crowd. On stroll the Sydney rockers, casual as
you like, with frontman Tommy O’Dell in his signature baseball
cap. They begin with the upbeat For Now. It does the job of
getting the crowd’s blood pumping.
It’s surprising to find that, despite the band’s cool and calm
aura on stage, they still remain a force to be reckoned with,
composed and assured, fuelling one of the most enthusiastic
crowds I have ever witnessed. Subtly powerful from their
presence to their sound and lyrics, the band work their way
through the setlist with a crowd belting every word back to them.
It’s like the band and crowd are each armed with a tennis racket
and we try to serve an ace of energy passed one another. Instead
it’s a spirited rally.
Their sound allows the audience to maintain their stamina
right up until the very last song, Lay Down. This indie hit causes
the crowd to give it their all before the night comes to an end. A
cloud of red and blue smoke fills the room as flares signal without
despair, just celebration. I’m wading through a sea of bucket hats
and waves of people perched up on shoulders, having the time of
their lives, soaking up every second of the moment.
As the show finishes and I turn to leave, my feet sticking to
the floor with every step, there’s no doubt in my mind that the
Aussie lads go above and beyond their fans’ expectations.
Chelsea Andrews
DMA’S (Stuart Moulding / @oohshootstu)
DMA’S (Stuart Moulding / @oohshootstu)
Art360: After Dark
Tate Liverpool – 12/04
Art360: After Dark sees the entire Tate gallery space open
after hours, for a one-off immersive art and sound experience.
Through the use of headphones and specially commissioned
sound and visual work, we are invited to engage with the art in
new ways. Art which, perhaps, we may know or have already
seen in the almost silent hours of daytime, now taking on new
meanings when the senses are stimulated, and in the context of
night.
Everyone – and we are many – is given a set of headphones
on arrival at the gallery, each set with three channels from which
to choose. Each channel covers a separate section of the gallery,
corresponding to the guest musicians and visual artists who
played sets on the night as well as having contributed pieces
specifically for the event. Each area’s soundtrack is supplemented
by the use of 3D headphones allowing the ambient external
sound to mix with the headphones output.
Set headphones to Red. Wirral band ANNEXE THE MOON
hold court in the foyer of the gallery with their own brand of
sweet melodic psych pop. Life on the peninsula has brought
them an appreciation of the waters which surround us, giving
their stories a maritime sense, borne of their environment. All
swirling organ riffs, and sunbaked vocals, they could just as
easily fit onto the Postcard Records roster of the 80s as they
could Skeleton Key. The headphones bring animation to the
conversations of new arrivals in the foyer, which actually just
served as a distraction.
Onwards, up the stairs. Set headphones to Yellow. One of
the focusses of Art360 is the use of sound design to enhance
the viewing of the Op Art In Focus exhibition. To the soundtrack
of a piece entitled Pub Carpet Sounds by local awardwinning
composer and sound designer PHIL CHANNELL, we
wander through rooms of dizzying, disorientation. A dynamic
soundscape of samples, quotes and thoughts on how we react
with reverberation, and of how music, as vibration, changes
our environment. While the experience of viewing art alone is
common, without any discussion or reflection with others feels
insular at times, though the headphone accompaniment does feel
most suited to the rooms of the Op Art show.
Op Art, an assault on the senses, a visual stress, playing
with the concepts of space and light. Of lines and shape. Visually
discordant tricks, warping what we see. Do we see what we see?
Our eyes lead us to believe we see movement in stillness, and
shapes that don’t exist. Beautiful trickery with perception as its
currency.
A product of the global upheaval and uncertainty of the 60s,
and with an eye to Dada and Cubism, Op Art was a playful and
vibrant movement rich in technical precision. There is a disarming
challenge in the monochrome geometric lines of Bridget Riley,
and a cool, reflective calm in Damien Hirst’s pale pastels, here
in one of his renowned Spot Paintings, while the Technicolor
psychedelic floorscape of Jim Lambie’s Zobop 1999. Its surging,
flowing lines of primary colours swirl and gyrate around our feet.
It references Op Art, Pop Art, the hyper reality of childhood, the
DIY ethics of punk and the chemical joy of acid house and rave
culture. A celebratory piece – thanks to his artwork for pensive
Scottish indie popsters Superstar – and a much-favoured artist
of ours.
Set headphones to Green. The top floor at Tate Liverpool is
completely clear, a wide plain, and liberating space, dimly lit in
colour. At its centre, an enclosed darkness. Lit at first only by the
glowing green lights on the headphones of the crowd, here to
witness the DJ creations of DANIEL RUANE and BREAKWAVE.
With projection screens showing the scratched and anxious
visuals of NANNA KOEKOEK in a piece called Carpet Visuals,
the DJs bring harsh, angular rhythms, a soundscape of dark,
discordant tones, deep and unsettling and more than a little
oppressive. But in a good and captivating way. Like the space
had been in some way claimed. Populated with ideas and
thought. It reminded us of the clubs and performance you could
happen across in Berlin at the end of the 90s before the rebuild
had really taken hold, and coupled with the baking temperature
in the space, it actually made the perfect end to our nocturnal
journey up and through the Tate’s spaces.
The Tate late is a wonderful thing, and should be used
more often after dark, when more people can make the effort to
engage with the art, and come together in numbers to celebrate
the unity art can bring.
Art360 (Nykeith Lee)
Paul Fitzgerald / @NothingvilleM
REVIEWS
69