Ambient, trance, trip hop, downtempo, acid jazz. Does anyone out there know what these terms mean? (I always thought the last one was munching a handful of blotter and listening to Bitches Brew) The descriptors thrown around in the electronic world are dizzying to the point of confusion. The two artists that I review here fall under the electronic umbrella. They are internationally popular and garnered a pretty full crowd, problem is, this music, by definition, wants to be relegated to the background.
New Zealand born, London based Rakei is a multi-instrumentalist. He had keyboards and sang honey voiced tunes that approximated muzak with a backbeat.
Bonobo is the brainchild of dj and producer Simon Green. He has produced and worked with such luminaries as Erykah Badu and Gorillaz, with some Grammy nominations in the mix. Green had keyboards and decks and played bass. He was joined by guitar, flute/sax, drums, another keyboard, and occasional female singer. While that may seem like a pretty full band, the music it produced didn’t engage, and maybe that’s the point. Club music is a backdrop for dancing, checking your phone, and chatting with your friends. The show was billed as Fragments Live, Bonobo’s recent album with Rakei guesting. They did a full set, and judging by the head bobs in the crowd, a decent rendering. I genuinely like this music, and don’t mean to dog the musicians, but I’m used to live music that engages. Maybe if I danced more, checked my phone more, and chatted with my friends more, this show would have come into focus.
