Salve Derventio! Esne paratus saxum?

Lying in a big hotel bed in Derby at 7:45am on Friday 16th February 2024, if someone had told me a year ago that last night I'd have been playing live electronic music, my electronic music, very loudly to a roomful of people who clapped and cheered at the end, I'd have told them they were crazy. That I'd even have anything I'd be less than terrified to let people hear seems crazy. And yet, here we are: Libby and all the gear is packed neatly in the rucksack ready to go, I'm promising myself I'll only have one sausage at the Premier Inn breakfast I'm about to devour downstairs. EMOM Gig #3 is done and dusted. 

Derby is a lovely place if you like being stuck in traffic. I last drove here two decades ago, and even then it was frustrating. The Romans had no such issues. Since establishing the garrison town of Derventio, it has enjoyed a long and storied history, and has some fine architecture to show for it. The cathedral, lit at night, is a magnificent testament to the stonemason's art. I had around 30 minutes to appreciate this gothic edifice from various angles as my taxi slowly edged around the city's one way system. Surely, the Derby ring road is the world's longest car park.

Dubrek Studios: a big room with a massive sound.

 As is customary now, I arrived far too early, to find an all but empty venue. It was a lovely big room, though, and the speaker stacks looked promising. Presently, James Glew arrived to set up and test the PA. Oh boy, the PA was loud, and what a bass end! I had the distinct feeling I was going to enjoy playing here. 

The special offer at the bar was a pizza and a pint for £13. I chose the NZ Pale (more a craft than an IPA, bright almost lagerish taste and a head you could dip a flake in - £4.90/pint when bought separately). The pizza was lovely. Overall, a recommended combo.

The big question was, what's the running order for the night? The answer was first to arrive plays first, so I set up. There are obvious pros and cons to this. The big pro is that being first up, you get a soundcheck - and boy, did Gory Corners sound thunderous over the PA! The obvious con is that the room may not be as full as you'd like when you blast it with your display of electronic bravura. I'm guilty of just wanting to get on and play. I see a stage these days, and I want to be making a racket on it! I need to start playing further down the list; I'm not a newbie any more. 3rd or 4th seems more appropriate now.

Tonight's office

So, sound checked, I settled into my pizza and chatted to Stopyral (Gary Stoppard) about synths, influences and EMOMs, as an audience and some of the other performers slowly arrived.

The lights were set up and bathed the room in blue, green and purple. And then it was showtime. I had an absolute blast. I played the new track Monday Can Wait and it sounded great. I'm really pleased with the work I put in to get it bedded into the set for this gig. Each song was greeted with enthusiastic applause. My litmus test is whether I need to cue the next track to cover any silences. I'm glad to say that I didn't need to. 

So, set done, buzz gained, neck probably broken from unwise headbanging, laptop off, pack away and repair to the bar for a fresh pint. 

Next up was the duo Apple Venus. I didn't know what to expect from an act with a name like that, but I wasn't disappointed. Two ex-bankers performing what they described as poetronica. Excellent social comment and quite danceable. It reminded me slightly of Sleaford Mods but slower, more intelligent and considered. Given that they say they usually play in places such as art galleries, I'm hoping they'll play more EMOMS.

Apple Venus, with their brand of poetronica.

Next up was my new pal Stopyral. Making his MPC sweat, he delivered a set very tuned to my sensibilities. To my ears it encompassed the regimented feel of Kraftwerk and hi energy with the flavour of Tangerine Dream before flowing into a harder and more industrial sound, like Nitzer Ebb or DAF. Alas, technical difficulties curtailed his set, but what a sound! He'd go down great at BLEEP.

Stopyral making a great industrial sound before technical difficulties curtailed his set.

Apollo Bitrate was up next. As they took to the stage, we were asked to make a guess at the highest BPM that was to be part of the coming set. I guessed at 360, but as things progressed and Apollo disappeared behind a laptop covered in CDs, things became increasingly frenetic. Drum and bass can be fast and complex, but I was not expecting the increased ferocity towards the end. The fastest BPM? 15,000. That's thousand. 

Somewhere behind this CD-bedecked laptop is the mighty Apollo Bitrate, defying all notions of puny Earth BPMs!

The next act was music to my ears - literally. The only guitar in evidence came from Filter Zombies. Fast and heavy drum and bass, but overlaid with delicate, chorused guitar reminiscent of The Cocteau Twins, Japan, even Siouxsie and the Banshees. Perfectly executed with a light touch. Look out for this guy at an EMOM near you. 

Filter Zombies, matching frenetic drum and bass with mellow guitar.

 The mighty Simon Greatbatch was next, with an even mightier Roland workstation synth. From the first few notes, I knew I was in for a smooth, cool treat. Clearly a slave to the rhythm, Simon's set was commercial, funky, danceable, and radio friendly. Beautifully executed house music with his own unique twist. Here's an example of his sound. He told me later that he's never had a music lesson in his life. 

Smooth vibes from Mr Greatbatch!

Luke Twyford took to the stage next. Thanks to more NZ Pale, my note-taking was getting a little hazy at this point, but I'm sure I heard him say it's only his second gig. If that's the case, he had nothing to worry about. His set stretched from funky house to fast and flowing techno and into live filter squelchiness with definite overtones of Underworld and Chemical Brothers. Marvellous stuff. 

Luke Twyford creating funky beats and squelchy goodness

Bodydicers is the stage name of Karl Banks, who treated us some dark, heavy sonic manipulations. Industrial drum and bass with a bounce. Guaranteed to upset the neighbours or other drivers in a traffic jam. Beautifully done, with lots of ideas and very danceable. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture because I'm an idiot.

Brawny was next, in a lovely fun fur jacket, and was in great form. Old Skool rave: fast, hard and bulging with energy. Then faster, into drum and bass territory, featuring some great chord changes. It may be my imagination, but he seemed to play for a lot longer than 15 minutes. 

Brawny giving us his best Old Skool rave chops.

Tom Ward then gave us a display of fast, real time drum and bass manipulation. A high speed, relentless onslaught. Mere words don't do him justice, so here's a clip:

And finally, to close the evening, James Glew himself set up and played. Or rather, he tried, but the dreaded technical difficulties decided to have some fun at his expense. Gremlins defeated he was underway and gave us his trademark massive trance sound.

Mr Glew belting out the tunes!

The evening was drawing to a close, and I was away to my long-overdue bed, stopping only to buy a Dubrek t-shirt, and to observe a rat scurrying along the path near BBC Radio Derby. 

With the sad news that Jamie has had to curtail the Blackpool EMOM fixtures for the foreseeable future, it's my hope that someone will be able to step in until he is better. Failing that, the next outing of Jon and Libby is on Tuesday, 2nd April at Dave Walker's excellent EMOM in Todmorden. Like Blackpool, this is one I have been looking forward to, so keep yourself safe, Dave.

Further news is that the Shrewsbury EMOM is back on! The first one is Saturday 9th March from 1pm. If you're in the area, pop along to Albert & Co, Frankville and lend your support. It's just over the Welsh Bridge from the town centre, with Raven Meadows and Theatre Severn car parks nearby, and just a short walk from the railway station.