On a tiny stage, filled with keyboards, an overarching LED tree and other strange contraptions, Imogen Heap clambers to the front of the clutter holding a wine glass filled with water. She runs her fingers round the lip of the glass resonating an eerie tone that captivates the audience. Almost like magic, she sits at her piano and manages to craft a song from that constant ethereal drone.
It's something you might expect from the Grammy award winning Imogen Heap. She takes loops of random sounds and molds them into songs. She's a well respected artist who has vast and committed fan base. She has over a million followers on twitter but this hasn't translated into massive commercial success as she teeters on the edge of the mainstream. After having a chat with her, this fact didn't seem to bother her. She commented that the success of Jason Derulo's sampling of "Hide and Seek" was brilliant because it "pays her mortgage" allowing her to keep making the music that she loves.
I was a little worried about how Imogen's music would translate to a live performance. Her songs are a complete mesh of vocals intertwined with random sounds that create a vivid soundscape. I was pleased to find her live performance kept the qualities that make her such an individual artist. She darted across the stage tinkering with bells, synthesizers and random childhood toys to create the celestial feel of her albums. She was joined by musicians who also played a myriad of weird and wonderful instruments like drums, cellos and a throat bass (Oh yes, I said throat bass).
The evening culminated with Imogen donning shades and rocking out with a keytar but these moments weren't the ones that truly stood out. She shined when her music was completely stripped back. Her performance of "Half-life" was a perfect and particularly beautiful example of this. This, already emotionally charged song, was made even more haunting by Imogen and her piano taking centre stage. I would have liked to have seen more of this in her performance.
Watching Imogen Heap was a very special experience that I would I recommend to everyone. She has the ability to loop innocuous sounds to create a rich texture of electro-pop and the skills to play piano and sing beautifully. Truly amazing 8/10!
www.imogenheap.com/
By Jamie Powis (Birmingham Academy)
25 February 2011
20 February 2011
Skunk Anansie - Does Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder?
Having realised the majority of people reading this will be 14 I’m going to start with a little history lesson. We’re going back to the dark days when kids were running around the playground pretending to be Power Rangers and mobile phones were practically bricks. The 1990’s saw a wave of new British Talent hitting the music scene spawning the term ‘BritPop’
Skunk Anansie were probably one of the biggest British bands in the 90’s. Riding the wave of Brit pop, they offered something different; with an aggressive and powerful front woman (called Skin) they created a genre of their own, BritRock. If you thought that boy bands were boring and weren’t a fan of parker wearing Mancunians you were generally a fan of Skunk Anansie. The band was hugely successful but fell into a bit of a black hole and disappeared from the British music scene.
I’m always pessimistic of bands that reform. Are they doing it to pay off their mortgages or do they genuinely want to start making music again? Thankfully, I feel Skin, Cass Ace and Mark are back for noble reasons. I headed down to Birmingham O2 Academy excited to hear their old classics and interested about how their new album ‘Wonderlustre’ would be received by the crowd.
A cheer erupted from the audience as an image of a heart was projected on a ghostly thin white curtain that shrouded the stage from view. Feeling a low rubble of bass the roar of the crowd grew. Lights flickered behind the curtain, intermittently bathing the stage in an eerie red glow. Silhouetted by the lights, the band walked onto the stage and donned appropriate poses. Skin raised her arms and the curtain dropped. The crowd surged forward as Skunk Anansie began with the aggressive and particularly relevant song ‘Yes It’s F**king Political.’ Their aggression hadn’t been lost during their absence with a relentless onslaught of light and sound that continued throughout the performance.
One of the high points was Skins fantastic interaction with the crowd. At one point, she literally stood on the shoulders of her fans and walked across the audience.
It was a fantastic spectacle to watch and proves that absence can make the heart grow fonder. The stage was well dressed with one of the most beautiful black drum kits I’ve ever seen. The new songs were received well but not to the same rapture of the older ones like ‘Weak’. ‘Wonderlustre’ is available to buy now and I’d recommend heading down to watch them if they play near you.
By Jamie Powis
www.kicfm.com/shows/interviews
Mass Effect 2: Where Sex is Literally an Achievement
In civilised society, the only place you can brag about your sexual conquests is in the pub or in the back of those girly magazines. Unlike the real world, in Mass Effect 2, the second you “successfully pursue a relationship with a teammate” all your friends know you got laid (I made the mistake of posting all my PS3 trophies to facebook). This is just one aspect of the truly unique gaming experience Mass Effect 2 offers.
Mass Effect follows Commander Shepard who’s battling to save humanity from immense sentient robots called Reapers. It sounds like your standard sci-fi shoot’em up but it’s actually a far more interesting and immersing experience.
The game perfectly blends action with extensive role play elements that makes Mass Effect 2 a special experience. Every decision you make can have a huge effect on the Mass Effect universe. You find yourself hesitantly clicking through dialog, making sure you don’t say the wrong thing because you don’t want an interstellar war on your conscience. Basically, it’s got more twists than your favourite soap opera. If I had to compare it; it would be the video game love-child of Fallout 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4.
Mass Effect 2 is now available on the PC, Xbox360 and the PS3. I would seriously recommend it to everyone. Bioware has created an epic game. I’m counting down the days until the third instalment is released.
By Jamie Powis
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