Liquid Architecture

A large and a appreciative audience witnessed an evening of first-class electronica last night at the Hellenic Club, in Club Zho 81, organised by Tura New Music. The evening was part of the national Liquid Architecture festival. This is the first time a Perth event has been an official part of the festival, although festival artists have appeared in Perth during past years. Let's hope it's not the last time.

The four acts on the bill were from France, Victoria and Western Australia. Nat, from Victoria was the standout performance for me, with his rich but subtle soundscapes spanning multiple timbres and frequencies. Cédric Peyronnet, aka Toy Bizarre, is from France. His laptop dark ambience was very slick and competently done, but kind of lacked an edge. I'm not sure we have to bring someone all the way from France to do that sort of thing. Jacques Sodell, from Bendigo whose work has been featured on Difficult Listening a few times, is a specialist in jagged, glitchy sounds, sometimes at the very edge of audibility, other times totally in your face. The evening was rounded out with a duo of Cat Hope and Chris Cobilis - the first time I have seen these two performing together. Cat's infrasonics were awesome as usual, while Chris, at the top end, experimented with the effect of moving furniture on sounds pick-ups. I was so looking forward to seeing, and hearing, the whole shebang crash to the floor!

Had a chat with Jacques Sodell afterwards. Until recently, he hosted a show similar to Difficult Listening on 3CCC FM, in central Victoria. I thought I was a veteran, but his show ran for 23 years! He told me an all-too-familiar tale of woe about the station being hijacked by footballers and request shows, and the specialist music presenters being increasingly marginalised. I said there was very little likelihood of that happening to RTR FM, and he replied that until only a couple of years ago, he thought the same was true of his station. More reason to support the RTR FM Radiothon this year, folks!

More unfortunate news is that Tura has cancelled the rest of its events this year to concentrate on regional arts projects. There will only be one more Tura concert in Perth for the rest of this year, despite the fact that the organisation recently landed a juicy sponsorship deal with a petroleum company. It's a real pity, because Club Zho has become a very valuable listening experience, giving opportunities for both audiences and new performers. Luckily, some other organisations have begun taking up the slack (see Meupe announcement below). We need a regular new music gig in Perth, so anyone who puts in the effort will have my support.