TRANSCENDER FESTIVAL – BARBICAN, LONDON
2013-10-07NICOLAS JAAR PLUS EVIAN CHRIST WITH JOSHUA LIGHT SHOW
There was no doubting (at least in our minds) that Saturday night at the Barbican in East London was the hottest ticket in town. Nicolas Jaar, the New-York based Chilean-American electronic musician two years on from his debut album Space is Only Noise was performing, in collaboration with Joshua Light Show, including some of the original Woodstock-era team and Joshua White himself.
For most of the set, we remained seated. This was a performance that required concentration. Jaar used his voice sparingly, but it was at the points when his vocals cut across the track with smooth, old-school cool, that his music was at its cleverest and most mesmerising. From the middle of a ring of tech, plus vibraphone and – once – piano, he took us from serene to edging on dance in what seemed like one seamless piece of music. But dancing may just have pushed us over to full sensory overload, so intense was the experience.
The visuals felt like neither an accompaniment nor an afterthought, but a chance to get in on another act of creation. The team choreographed the light show live, using lasers, ink and shapes, smeared, flicked and beating across the screen. Describing their offering as ‘psychedelic’ doesn’t quite do them justice, although deep into the set you could find yourself losing track of what was following what – the music or the light. When Jaar first came to the mike to sing, accompanied by four female (and Londoner) choral voices, whilst red ink bubbled and bloomed high above him, it was almost impossibly beautiful.
Jaar was supported by Evian Christ (pseudonym of the UK producer and artist Joshua Leary), who also benefited from the fantastical visuals. He has previously worked with Kanye West on Yeezus, and you could recognise some of the intelligent hip-hop sampling. But this was a more unnerving and melancholy sound – with the incredible sound system in the Barbican hall only a further gift.
We finished on a treat: a thirty minute set – unannounced – from Darkside, Jaar’s collaboration with guitarist Dave Harrington, with tracks from their new album, Psychic, out on October 8. Although equally incredible, the extra person didn’t make Jaar’s previous work feel any less layered – testament to his talent as a solo artist.
Jaar was performing as part of the Transcender festival, an annual fixture at the Barbican for the last five years. Evolving out of the Ramadan Nights series, the festival intends to explore “spiritual, devotional and psychedelic music”, including contemporary and traditional, Western and non-Western artists, alongside new collaborations such as this one with Joshua Light Show. When we finally got up and danced for the encore, it did feel something like a religious experience. One thing is certain: someone at the Barbican seriously knows what they’re doing.
Words – Rosie Hore
www.nicolasjaar.net
www.barbican.org.uk
www.darksideusa.com
Nicolas Jaar (Live) – Barbican, London – 5/10/13
