The People's Republic of Wet Yorkshire...

 

Behold, the classic two table setup!

Last night saw Libby and I fire up Marjorie the satnav app to head north of Manchester and over the border into the People's Republic of Wet Yorkshire (a private joke with a sadly deceased friend and proud Yorkshireman). I call the app Marjorie because if I say anything remotely resembling "Google"  anywhere near the phone, it will stop giving directions, and then I'm lost. Along the M60 and up the M62 we went. That was the easy part. Marjorie was hoarse from giving directions through towns and villages made of Pennine sandstone by the time we reached the Golden Lion in Todmorden for the April EMOM, ably created and run by big Dave Walker, A.K.A Mho.

I'd been told on Monday that a couple of acts had dropped out, and could we play for a bit longer? After a bit of a faff, I got a 5th song tagged onto the end of the set and away we went. 

None of the acts other than Lenta Consulta and I had arrived, so we both set up on the traditional twin tables. I don't know if it was nerves, but Lenta wanted to go second, so after a blast for volume which made a few audience members jump, and a quick on-mic chat with Mr Walker, Libby led us into battle.

Jon And Libby's office for the evening.

 

The reaction to our set from the growing audience was great. The applause built with every song into a bit of cheering by the end of Three Liars. Libby had said it was our last song, but it wasn't. We had time to squeeze in that cheeky something to extend the stage time to around 25 minutes. And by cheeky, I really do mean cheeky. The BBC News theme tune! I've wanted to do a cover of this iconic tune for years. It works very well at our usual tempo of 130bpm, and it went down a storm. I improvised on the keyboard by playing Ronan Fed's excellent TB-303 clone arpeggiated to 16ths, and clattered along to the evolving action.

Anyway, take the final applause, a bit more on-mic chat, shut down, load out, check the table for anything left behind, and find the coffee I'd left to go cold at a table somewhere.

Lenta Consulta was up next. A minimal setup consisting of a yellow Behringer TD-3 and Elektron Digitakt gave forth a banging tribal acid house set that I can see going down very well at festivals this or any other summer. 

Banging tunes from Lenta Consulta

AM Frequencies is a new act to me, but he's no stranger to the EMOM scene. His extensive modular synth, covered in patch leads, had Dave Walker drooling. Abstract industrial soundscapes gradually gave way to minimalistic beats with a huge canvas both in terms of sonic depth and timbral complexity.

A lot of complexity making an equally complex sound, that's AM Frequencies

 

Next up was the very smart man in a suit and tie who had been sitting next to me. Terry Yolo took to the stage with a chair, an office nameplate for the desk, and a single Teenage Engineering SP-1. As he began, the opening bars of We've Only Just Begun by The Carpenters boomed out, then began to twist and morph into a strange and winding soundscape, leading us very far from the original sound. Eventually, Terry made it back to shore, and Karen's vocal was restored. Along the way, he made much use of the SP-1's unique performance controls, such as the gyroscope. More samples followed and were similarly taken on a very heavy trip. Strangers In the Night and what I think was Aquamarina by Barry Gray both succumbed to the psychedelic treatment. 

Terry Yolo - a journey into sound so trippy I may never stop having flashbacks

 

After such a sonic assault, the evening was grounded again by Hardaker and Zux, delivering their unique blend of hard techno and unintentionally Ian Curtis-esque vocals. They're regulars on the EMOM scene, both as a duo and solo acts, and Mr Hardaker had left a family holiday in Wales to come and play. As an avid Joy Division fan, I'm sure I could detect the influence of Unknown Pleasures on their sound.

EMOM stalwarts Hardaker & Zux banging out the tunes

 Multicoloured Mho was next, with a banging dub house set. Lots of visuals as well as complex sounds to get your teeth into. I particularly like his work incorporating tribal singing. It sounds as if the samples are genuinely part of the song, as if they were written into the fabric, rather than being added later. It sounded to me as if the songs were developed around them. By turns melancholic and triumphant, Mho always delivers a very polished performance.

Our own multicoloured Mho giving plenty for the eyes as well as the ears!

 

And so to the final act: The Junta. A man with his own neon sign! He delivered a set of banging tech house synthpop inspired by his love of Ultravox. Big fat fizzy pads blended with arpeggios. Lovely. Very danceable. I picked up definite nods to the work of New Order and Vince Clarke ion his accomplished set.

Final act The Junta knocking it out of the park.

And then it was time to leave Wet Yorkshire for home along empty motorways. Here's a tip if you have to drive to your gigs and stay sober, especially if it's a long way. Think up a simple post-gig "rider". A treat for when you get home. Buy it and set it up so you have something to look forward to when the post-gig fatigue sets in. Last night, I chose a couple of vanilla pastries and a couple of glasses of cheap Shiraz. A lovely end to a top evening.

A post-gig treat, with all the green M&Ms removed!

Our next gig is in Shrewsbury on 20th April. See you over the Welsh Bridge at Albert & Co, Frankville from 1pm to rattle some windows!

Before I go, I must take a moment to remember Chris Cross of Ultravox, who recently died. Back when I was an impressionable teenager, drooling over the latest synths in Electronics & Music Maker, I had an Ultravox poster on my wall. Ever since I taped their classic live gig at the BBC Paris Theatre from Radio 1 on a wet Saturday afternoon in 1981, I'd been a fan. I had a poster on my wall, probably from LookIn. In one corner were the names of the band members along with what they played. Next to Chris' name, it said "Bass synth", and I thought, "That's the instrument for me!". Years later, I realised it should have said "Bass, synth" but by then I'd already learned to play a misprint.

R.I.P.