Röyksopp
@
Brixton Academy, London, 14 October 2005
Published:
musicOMH,
October 2005
Original
article:
http://www.musicomh.com/music/gigs/royksopp_1005.htm
The Spaceship Röyksopp lands upon the stage amid a
smokey fog and eerie, extra terrestrial lights. As the stage
is slowly revealed, however, it becomes clear that the Norwegian
duo have taken the night off and sent a couple of members
of Kraftwerk along to take their places instead.
Wearing
bright red shirts, black ties and with their hair immaculately
slicked into oil-black side-partings, Svein Berge and Torbjørn
Brundtland do an extermely convincing impression of the
German pioneers of electronic music. As soon as they launch
into Röyksopp's Night Out though, they betray their
true identities, immediately dispensing with the anaesthetised
stoicism associated with their Teutonic heroes in favour
of indulging in some joyful exuberance.
The
duo seem to be enjoying every second they spend on stage
which acts as an elixir for the crowd too, far away from
the lacklustre, motion-running habits that some acts fall
into when playing live. Of course it could be all too easy
for them to tire of airing material from first album Melody
AM, which slept for so long before becoming a hit when it
was released over four years ago, but their enthusiasm never
falters.
At
times they perform the older material straight, as with
storming house number Poor Leno, but at others they blur
the boundaries of the originals: Sparks gains a rampant,
reggae slant while Remind Me has its pulse raised, turning
into a guitar-hooked disco hit, heavily vocodered vocals
successfully replacing Erlend Øye's
lightly touching lament.
Of
the other older material on offer, the much-loved Eple is
well-received, its one-time ubiquity clearly having not
damaged its appeal, while A Higher Place is overwhelmingly
lush, with immense soul-shaking chords sweeping over the
audience.
Material
from latest offering The Understanding also features heavily,
the singles Only This Moment, featuring Kate Havnevik's
ethereal tones, and Chelonis R Jones' soulful
rendition of 49 Percent going down particularly well.
It
is harder to gauge the crowd's response to the rest of the
new album, though it's certainly not indifferent so perhaps
the same slow-burning swell of popularity and gradual osmosis
into people's psyche is taking place once again.
This
process is aided by an LED screen above the stage displaying
each track title and provides a nice touch for the encore
too as strobe-fried retinas clear enough following Nok E
Nok to be able to read the words 'ONE MORE SONG????' scrolling
across the display. The crowd give an enthusiastic, collective
'yes' and are rewarded with So Easy. Its monastic chant
may not manifest itself above the drums as perhaps it should
but it still proves to be an uplifting end to a thoroughly
engaging gig.
- Ian Roullier, 10/2005 |