- IDM giants and seasoned Warp recording artists, Autechre, have arguably became an institution in all things innovative and experimental in electronic music. Popping their Belfast cherry tonight with support from homegrown hero Boxcutter and Skam Records artist Rob Hall, the capital's underground music community had a hell of a lot to look forward to.
First up is Boxcutter, currently the toast of Northern Ireland electronic music, having recently been headhunted and signed to Mike Paradina's formidable Planet Mu label. Engaging the audience with a heady brew of trippy imagery and a broken sound canvas awash with atmospherics and sweeping, deep grimy basslines, it's little wonder he'’s causing such a commotion in the burgeoning dubstep scene.
Despite their reputation, Autechre are never ones to cause a fuss and predictably make an unspectacular entrance, dropping abruptly into a Rob Hall set that has by this point, gathered some momentum and found favour with a very responsive crowd. However the duo waste no time going straight for the audience jugular.
From the offset, the throbbing, frenetic beat-driven sound shows no sign of abating. In fact it stays that way for the remainder of the evening, bar a few variations, to eventually and gradually climax in a crescendo of scattered beats.
The large monitors above the DJ desk that complimented Boxcutter’'s set so well, are now switched off, presumably at the behest of tonight’'s headliners. The duo opt instead for a no frills stage show, huddling themselves left of stage - only the glare of their laptop screens highlighting the contours of their faces beneath a heavy smoke screen. In short, the mood is downright sinister. Their telepathic understanding serves them well as no communication is made between the two for the whole night. Whilst some look on in bemusement, others that are game enough to attempt to move to the demented beat fest gain some satisfaction out of the fact that it is actually surprisingly danceable.
The end of the evening upon us, Rob Hall resumes deck duty to an almost capacity crowd now in full swing, expertly picking up where he left off. The fact that time has now crossed over into Monday morning and work beckons in a few hours has entirely slipped minds.
So, the turn out was great, the atmosphere good, the performance satisfying - if at times predictably difficult to swallow. And to have all that for a sleepy Sunday night, why grumble?