Salve Derventio! Esne paratus iterum lapis?

 

Thursday's office, with Jim and Lee fettling the live feed in the background.

It was back to Derby on Thursday for our return visit to a venue since playing our first EMOM back in late December. This time, rather than a leisurely train journey down through the Trent Valley and a slap-up breakfast at the Premier Inn the following morning, Marjorie the Satnav was in command as we hurtled over the Pennines in the mighty Sandero, windscreen wipers battling against driving rain, and standing water so bad I felt the need to momentarily pop my hazards on to warn drivers behind me. But get there we did, and bang on time.

I'd spontaneously booked a place at the Dubrek Studios May EMOM, and subsequently discovered that Lee Greatorex would be livestreaming it to YouTube. The question was: do I tell my family they can see me hammering away at the ivories like a demented Mrs Mills, and more importantly do I tell my group of old school friends who take the piss out of EVERYTHING? As usual, my inner idiot decided this would be a very good idea indeed. So, with no pressure AT ALL...

Blue Leaf was up at the tables first, with a very accomplished and well-balanced set of half-speed DnB, with almost tribal sonic textures. Very cool and a powerful sound. Check him out. I think he's going to be big.

Blue Leaf with a chilled out half speed set. An excellent intro to the evening.

Next up was RFK23 with a complex set that reminded me very much of The Orb or Banco De Gaia. One of my watching friends, an avid hardcore punk fan, really liked this set. And so did I.A very authentic 90s festival vibe.

RFK23 with an authentic 90s festival vibe.

 Ffrwd is Welsh for "stream". He describes his sound as experimental and non-linear experiments in musique concrete. An ex-BBC sound engineer, he announced that he would be performing several experiments, including one involving an electric toothbrush!  "It's all a bit freeform and I just sort of make things as I go along". And he did! What came next was I personally think what EMOM is for: truly experimental, real time and at times bewildering. Even frightening to a degree, but sometimes danceable. True performance art, always teetering on the brink of chaos, and once or twice stumbling over the edge. Ffrwd's style was also a lot of fun, and he clearly enjoyed himself immensely. And the electric toothbrush? Rammed into the modular, sampled and manipulated into a kind of echoing foghorn. I must admit, listening to Ffrwd's set on the livestream after the gig, I gained a lot more insight into what was going on. Edgard Varèse springs to mind. I got talking to Ffrwd before I left. He has plans for tuned electric toothbrushes, so watch this space!

FRWD, proving that you never know what you'll hear next at an EMOM.

Me Am Mad Cat was next, with a banging 4 on the floor house set. Very smoothly done. If you know Mark's work, you know it's the business. I don't know if he's played Bleep in Manchester, but if not, I guarantee the audience there will love him.

Me Am Mad Cat doing the business.

And so we were up next. After an initial issue with levels (always bring the faders up on the live table before retiring to a safe distance!), we ploughed on. I had a great time. The set flew by. After what felt like a couple of minutes, I was stretching for the top note of the last chord in Three Liars, and it was all over. I was so happy with how it went, I spontaneously kissed the laptop! The only issue in the entire set (other than a couple of bum notes) was the phone in my back pocket buzzing away with messages as I played.

 

Not glum but concentrating, and having an absolute blast!

 

I previously saw AM Frequencies up at Dave Walker's Todmordon EMOM at Easter. On second hearing, I found a huge amount more in his sound. It's dark, doom-laden, and filled with reverbs that Vangelis would sell a kidney to possess. But it's also danceable, with a strong beat. Andy himself, clad in headphones to monitor the complexities of what he was creating, was soon bopping along.

AM Frequencies with a modular to die for!

Penultimately, we had Robert Ka, who blends techno with acidic sounds to produce a repetitive, evolving sound with an infectious rhythm. Old skool Orbital-style beats from back in the day! Many a great night has been had in a field in Essex listening to similar. 

Robert Ka serving up old skool rave vibes.

Unfortunately, time was now pressing, or I would have stayed for James Glew's set, which rounded off a satisfying and diverse night. I'm sure he'll forgive me, and Libby has promised not to "get him" after his comments about AI! However, via the livestream, I did get to see his set. 

Whenever I've seen James before, he's always started with an interesting prelude, getting the oscillators in tune, establishing the beat, sorting out earphones, and then diving in. Tonight was no exception. Gradually, an industrial techno sound emerged. Sonically satisfying and danceable, with (for me) shades of Tangerine Dream infusing the proceedings. 

James Glew bringing the evening home on his sprawling modular system.

And so it was back over the Pennines for us, this time in thick drizzle which somehow seemed worse than the earlier rain, but with a very satisfied feeling of a great evening having been had. Many thanks to James Glew, and to Lee Greatorex for the excellent livestream.

But what was the final verdict of my family and friends? Well, my sister says she is proud of me, my mates are oddly impressed, but best of all, my 14-year-old niece thought I was "really good". That last one is truly worth its weight in gold.