- With a flutter of media attention around Moritz Von Oswald's stroke last year and economic woes affecting The Arts Council, it was questionable whether the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival would be a dampener or a riser in 2009. Numbers were not a problem, sure, if you judged by the large amount of ravers milling about town, going from gig to gig. Musically, though, things were less certain: Modeselektor got great reactions, Grovskopa received mixed reviews and then there was this, Warp's celebration of 20 years.
Out of a week-long roster filled with gigs from Planetary Assault Systems, Luke Solomon, Ulrich Schnauss and Mark Broom, the Warp night was an imperative for a few reasons. Largely, though, it was useful to compare it against the last Warp night at DEAF several years ago which was filled with the sounds of Boards of Canada, Autechre and Aphex Twin. And, of course, to see what direction the imprint would be taking into the new decade.
It was, like the Grovskopa event, a mixed affair. Bibio swayed from genre to genre, mixing blippy low tempo electronica reminiscent of Boards of Canada's "Music Is Maths" filtered with gnarling noises, feedback and distortion over sonic bass assaults which provided a forthright groove before he drifted into glitzy soulful disco. And then? Deep, melodic Virgin Suicides-esque folktronica of course.
The crowd generally enjoyed the non-conformist sounds from Bibio, which reflected the overall vibe of the event. Girls were wearing shaved head Agnes Deyn-style haircuts with lime green tiered puffball ballet skirts, leopard print tights which clashed loudly with mustard colour Converse, ear muffs, lip piercings, and basically anything that shouted that they didn't give a fuck about fashion. (Style in 2009 seems to be centred around free expression and independence in clothing and music choice.) On boys, meanwhile, it was beards everywhere.
Newcomer Rustie, a replacement for late cancellation Tim Exile, was up next. His appearance led to some mutterings of discontent circulating amongst the crowd along the lines of: "Well, Warp are probably after signing him cos he's dubstep but sounds electronic experimental also." Nonetheless, his set started well, with dubstep that dipped and mixed with noodly electronica, grime and gritty sounds that sawed back and forth against chaotic sirens, short in pulse which lead into gnarling aggressive techno and old school jungle/acid grooves.
But then it went a little downhill: At one point he played tracks with R&B style lyrics that led to another onlooker commenting "I'm pretty disappointed with what's being played. It's so mainstream, it's not like Warp at all. I think he dropped a Craig David track for fuck sake!'' As he finished, dancers on the main floor whooped and cheered while purists on the balcony booed fervently and could be heard shouting "Get off, get off!" Talk about a baptism by fire. After a late start Plaid returned to the trademark Warp sound of experimental ambient breaks, lush visuals and dreamy ethereal sounds.
It's a tough position to be in: After 20 years, any label has to diversify. But will the diehard fans follow when your sound changes? How do you balance your core identity, and still maintain the forward-thinking spirit that won you those fans in the first place? On this night, we saw both ideas coming into contact with one another, and it wasn't exactly pretty. One thing's for sure, though: It'll be interesting to see where Warp goes next.
Photo credit
Barry Hennessy