L.E.V. Festival 2013

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  • L.E.V. Festival last year was something of an epiphany, and everything this year was exactly as I remembered it: good food, cheap beer, a welcoming and intelligent crowd, and great music. The only thing I don't remember from last year is the glorious sunshine, which bathed Gijón for the whole weekend. If there was anything to grumble about, it was perhaps an influence of the economic crisis, which reduced the visual side of the festival. Soulless Lab boss Doma opened proceedings with what was his first-ever live set, though you never would have guessed. Local act Huias followed and nailed the L.E.V. sound with their ecstatically received blend of experimental beats and pop, poised somewhere between Portishead and the Tri Angle label. On Friday night, the festival moved to the church. Santiago Latorre delivered an impressive performance that mixed modern classical, folk and electronica, looping his synths and sax with the six-second echo of the dome. Accompanied by projected images of Taiwan, the music struck a similar note to the Blade Runner soundtrack. The next four performances also felt like film scores. Each artist adopted a different cinematic technique to melancholy and even menacing effect. Tim Hecker opened with the processed organ material from Rave Death, 1972. Oneohtrix Point Never would have been a highlight if low volume hadn't dampened his set, which explored the illogic of dreams. Roly Porter's performance was the highlight of the festival and inseperable from a simple but effective film of a sinister forest. Raime's brooding and dramatic conclusion was well-executed and imposing, but a little predictable after a long session, and perhaps too faithful to their recordings. Pole started the closing session in the church. At first reverb frustratingly blunted his beats, yet he still finished brilliantly with a forceful and acidic climax. Andy Stott relished the acoustics, inciting cheers for his studious plumbing of all the lower frequencies he could get from the room. He resisted the kick drum for almost ten minutes, but when it finally came, it began a steady build to high BPM techno and eventually a hip-hop close. Saturday afternoon in the botanic garden was divine. Pye Corner Audio had me running for my albums when I got home to make sure it was the same artist I knew: instead of the noodling library music I'd had in mind, he delivered slow and hypnotic techno, exceptionally captivating with its constant ebb and flow of tension. John Roberts' live set may have been straight compared with what he does on record, but it was spellbinding nonetheless. A garden rammed to the limits with revellers, families and even the elderly were all captivated. Futuregold, a project by Hivern Discs' Kresy and Jay Gonzalez, were only given half an hour to play, which was a shame. Evian Christ had one of the standout evening shows, proving it was possible to be both moody and playful. Not even a few technical problems with the visuals could mire Emptyset, whose performance was impressively beat-heavy and physical. The perfect sound had the whole structure of the navé rumbling and every gut in the room churning. It had been a long time since I heard anything new from Kid606, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear a warm and detailed set unburdened by fussy changes and stale glitchy sounds. Jon Hopkins' bright and hyperactive sound had been a bit out of place at Barcelona's Micro Mutek back in February, but at L.E.V. he fit right in and was clearly a crowd favourite. Clark, too, was much better live than on record, falling somewhere between Hopkins and Kid606. As his encore began, the beer ran out, which seemed oddly appropriate for L.E.V.: no unnecessary excess and just the right amount to satisfy until the very end.
RA