list.co.uk/music Previews | MUSIC
P H O T O © R Y A N W A R B U R T O N
,
I
A U T O P C T O G R A P H Y C O M .
EXPERIMENTAL NIGHT WILDLIFE Joe McPhee and Chris Corsano / Still House Plants, Poetry Club, Glasgow, Tue 16 Feb; Linda Sharrock and (In) The Abbysity of the Grounds / Death Shanties play Poetry Club, Glasgow, Mon 22 Feb
‘Our aim is to ally some of the more forward thinking people on the Glasgow music scene, of which there are many, with the international avant-garde,’ says Trembling Bells' Alex Neilson of WildLife, the new club night he and promoters Idea Mexico are running at Glasgow's Poetry Club.
The i rst WildLife pairs the uncategorisable Glasgow quartet Still House Plants with the free jazz duo of Joe McPhee and Chris Corsano. Corsano's drum- ming has an amazing effect on audiences, says Neilson. ‘He's like a magician explaining some universal message. He's one of the best musicians I've ever seen, Coltrane quality.’ The veteran multi-instrumentalist McPhee, says Neilson, is ‘a link to the golden age of i re music’, and continues to push the boundaries.
WildLife returns a week later with a special show from the great Linda Shar- rock and her group (In) The Absyssity of the Grounds. Vocalist Sharrock, who is best known for her ‘orgasmic, deeply spiritual’ albums with late guitarist husband Sonny, has recently re-emerged following a stroke. By no means restricted to free jazz, WildLife is, says Neilson, ‘a platform for experimental practice across genres and a magnet for the new wave of artistic people emerging in Glasgow.’ (Stewart Smith)
DREAM-POP GRIMES O2 ABC, Glasgow, Sun March 13
Kamikaze art-pop auteur Grimes, aka Vancouver's Claire Boucher, released her debut cassette-only album, Geidi Primes, in 2010. The jury's out on whether said title inspired a portmanteau for Boucher's alter-ego, or whether her moniker harks from elsewhere – she's variously claimed it's a nod to UFO-i xated outsider artist Ken Grimes, and the musical genre of the same name – but what's certain is that her calling card was inspired by Frank Herbert's sci-i epic Dune, which hosted a ravaged planet called Giedi Prime.
Since then, Boucher's (dark) star has ascended, via Polaris nominations, Juno Awards, gigs with Lykke Li and collaborations with Blood Diamonds and Majical Cloudz – not to mention a deal with indie / dream-pop powerhouse 4AD, and a management contract with Jay Z's Roc Nation. Her latest (fourth) album, Art Angels, was released to widespread acclaim
last year, and furthered Boucher's knack for upturning expectations, overthrowing musical paradigms, and creating a dystopian realm of jarring electro-pop euphoria that thrives on neon-horror showdowns (‘SCREAM’, ‘Flesh Without Blood’, ‘Kill V Maim’) and rapturous airborne dread (‘Venus Fly’, ‘Butterl y’). ‘I'll never be your dream girl’, she sings on the latter. Her amyl nightmares are the stuff of wonder. (Nicola Meighan)
TRANCECORE ENTER SHIKARI O2 Academy, Glasgow, Thu 18 Feb; Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb
Enter Shikari were last seen in Scotland terrorising the Radio 1 stage at T in the Park, mashing together punk, metal, drum & bass and pounding trance for a vicious amalgam of hardcore and jungle beats. The band met at primary school in Hertfordshire, and originally started as an alternative rock act. ‘We were trying to be Muse,’ laughs frontman Rou Reynolds. ‘But over time we drew in a wider range of inl uences. I grew up on Northern Soul and Motown, then discovered my local hardcore punk scene. I went into London and heard all kinds of dance music and watched dubstep grow from its very early days. We always felt a bit downhearted by how people would dei ne their whole lives around one specii c niche genre when there's such a wide range of music out there.’
Beyond music, Enter Shikari are renowned for their socially conscious lyrics calling for unity and environmental change. Reynolds is an eloquent interviewee who is happy quoting Naomi Klein and discussing political ideology. ‘I didn't just want to be making loud angry music that was just loud and angry; you had to be angry for a reason.’
Their 2016 tour should be even more of an
onslaught than usual. ‘We're doing quadraphonic sound,’ explains Reynolds. ‘It'll be this disorientating effect where there will be sounds coming from all directions, so we're having to rewrite all the electronics for four outputs rather than just stereo. There's a lot of work to be done.’ (Henry Northmore)
4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 73