{MUSIC} Previews & reviews
PREVIEW WASHED OUT Chillwave from Georgia, following up a very excellent debut album in July
The List catches up with Ernest Greene the night after a gig in Berlin. It was someone in the band’s birthday apparently, so a bit of partying had to be done afterwards. Now he’s in the awkward post-coffee but pre-breakfast part of his hangover, and in half an hour he’ll be back on the road, going to tonight’s show in Nuremberg. But the Georgia boy’s far too Southern and polite to be grumpy. ‘I’m moving a little slower than usual, I guess,’ he says with a sleepy laugh. Since his debut album Within and Without came out this July (Weird World), his airmiles and fans have been steadily building up as he tours his dream-wave pop round Japan, America and Europe.
Originally a bedroom producer, Greene’s now joined by a full band; a ‘live rock band set-up’ that includes his wife on keyboards, plus friends from back home in Atlanta on drums and bass. ‘We up the tempo for the club shows, to make them more fun and more dancey, and move away from that subdued headphone feel of the album,’ he explains.
Not that subdued is a bad thing though; his first full album was a shimmery, slinky blur of synth-pop beats, and it firmly cemented his place in the chillwave Walk of Fame (if such a thing existed, for a genre that he effectively created with the two EPs he put out in 2009). It was produced by Ben Allen, who’s also worked with Animal Collective and Deerhunter. ‘I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to hold my own,’ says Greene, ‘but actually it gave me a bit more confidence in my own instincts. I definitely learned a lot. Actually, I look forward to producing for other people in the future, maybe a couple albums down the line.’
Greene’s looking forward to the Edinburgh show – especially because he’s
heard Sneaky Pete’s is a small venue, which he thinks is way more fun to play. After that, he’s looking forward to getting back home and making more music. ‘Travelling is really great for giving you tons of ideas, but it’s hard to actually record anything. I look forward to working more on that stuff, and also getting back to our bed, and eating some familiar food. ‘It’s funny – Mexican food? I didn’t realise how much I ate Mexican food, like
tacos and burritos three times a week, until I came to Europe, and couldn’t find any.’ (Claire Sawers) ■ Sneaky Pete’s, 225 1757, 14 Aug, 7pm, £8, part of The Edge. Listen to Washed Out’s Rough Trade remix at abeano.com/washed-out-rough-trade-mix/5586, or the cover of ‘Wicked Game’ at siriusxm.com. For a full version of this interview, see list.co.uk
REVIEW NICK PYNN One-man folk orchestra ●●●●●
PREVIEW THE TRAINS Moving, Holocaust inspired score by Steve Reich REVIEW SOWETO ENTSHA ●●●●● South African songs from the heart
L A V I T S E F
Nick Pynn’s set-up resembles a madcap music shop. Instruments hang from stands; some conventional, others more esoteric, like a ‘cocolele’, a ukulele made from a coconut shell. He dazzles on a ‘lopsided’ dulcimer too, adding almost dissonant voicings to its Appalachian stream of sound. Most pieces see him play several instruments,
layering guitar and mandola into graceful chamber folk. Fiddle and viola pieces such as ‘Michigan Sleeping’ stand out, blending folky melodies with minimalist repetition. It’s reminiscent of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, sharing their gentle English eccentricism, and incorporating unusual sounds into acoustic arrangements. ‘Guests’ include The Crystal Sisters (four wine glasses, looped into a celestial chorus) and the sampled voice of Shetland singer Astrid Williamson. Quirky composition methods, such as writing a melody in morse code, produce delightfully off-kilter results. This playful approach, combined with his considerable instrumental and song-writing skills, creates a rough magic. (Stewart Smith) ■ Inlingua, 220 5119, until 28 Aug, 9.15pm, £10 (£8.50); also Kate Daisy Grant with Nick Pynn, Fingers Piano Bar, 225 3026, until 27 Aug (not 15, 22), 6.40pm, free.
68 THE LIST 11–18 Aug 2011
Songs from the Holocaust might seem too dark a subject to tackle. But Greek singer Marika Klambatsea is convinced even music from this bleakest of periods can be life-affirming. ‘Music can help people overcome tragedy . . . to be able to survive.’ Her show The Trains brings together music from the concentration camps, as well as modern pieces. She sings Jewish songs – ‘In one Yiddish lullaby, a mother tells the terrible story of the tragic events to her baby,’ – alongside pieces by Weill, Mahler and Puccini. Steve Reich’s Holocaust- inspired string quartet Different Trains, given a video reinterpretation, binds the performance together.
Polish composer Aleksander Kuliesiewitz wrote 54
songs while in the Sachsenhausen camp near Berlin. ‘I don’t have the courage to sing more than one of them,’ admits Klambatsea. ‘To perform it, you have to go inside the person, to try to understand what they were experiencing.’ ‘The audience will feel quite emotional – people are often in tears at the end,’ notes Klambatsea. ‘I hope I can make the point that racism and prejudice are terrible.’ (David Kettle) ■ Sweet Grassmarket, 243 3596, 15–28 Aug, 9.20pm, £10 (£8).
In 2008, Morgan, Lwazi, Jabu and Zensele were ekeing out a living, busking on the streets of Soweto. Hearing that a French producer was in a nearby restaurant, the a cappella singers headed down to try and impress him. They did. Three years later, they’ve toured France as opening act for the African Footprint musical, recorded an album and performed at the opening of the 2010 World Cup. Now, these talented young South Africans are
playing the Fringe with a show that sounds sparse – no costume changes, musicians or set – but in reality is full to the brim. With enough energy to power the lighting rig, Soweto Entsha (Zulu for ‘new’) fill the room with their stage presence. Wearing sharp grey suits and their hearts on their sleeve they imbue each song with deep emotion. Their smooth, warm voices perfectly complementing each other. Most of the time, we don’t know what they’re singing about – which is fine, they convey enough feeling for us to fill in the gaps. Then, at the close of the set, they deliver a spine-tingling cover of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, effectively wiping the floor with the original. (Kelly Apter) ■ Udderbelly’s Pasture, 0844 545 8252, until 29 Aug, 4.30pm, £11–£14.50 (£9.50–£13).