Pampa Records in Barcelona

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  • As Matthew Dear took to the stage at the Pampa Records showcase in Barcelona during Sónar, his setup straddled the line between live and DJ set. Armed with a laptop running Traktor, flanked by controllers, effect pedals and a sampler, it was a suitable display of technology that fit with the spirit of a musician who seems to be constantly moving forwards. Being a Matthew Dear fan is a continually rewarding experience for a few reasons. Firstly, his output under his own name and as Audion is consistently brilliant and varied. Secondly, the man can't help but continually make music, meaning that at any given point you'll likely hear fresh material. Playing a more house-orientated set that day, Dear kept the crowd captivated, frequently teasing in snippets of his new Audion tracks. Standout cuts such as Crooked Man's "Preset" and an unreleased track with the lyrics, "lets go dancing, I wanna go dancing with you, all night dancing," were pressurised under effects before being unleashed on the audience with devastating force. Cries from someone nearby shouting "you're the best there is" seemed to go uncontested.  DJ Koze, one of Dear's recent collaborators and the night's headliner, took the stage to a wave of applause. Following the success of his latest release, the wonderfully playful and psychedelic Amygdala, expectations were high and Kozalla did not disappoint. His sterling remix of Matthew Herbert's "It's Only" pitched the set down to a quiet moment of swaying shoulders and raised hands, before he brought the pace back up with filtered tones of Late Nite Tuff Guy's edit of "I Get Deeper." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dear was invited onto the mic for live vocals on "Magical Boy," one of his guest appearances on Amygdala. Towards the end of the night, Kerri Chandler's rework of Nina Simone's "See-Line Woman" was a welcome inclusion, and brought a suitable end to the party. Whether you release albums as regularly as Dear or as infrequently as Koze, it simply doesn't matter when the quality of their DJing is this high.
RA