Tag: Thomas Ragsdale

I didn’t mention the bats

September 2017
Green Door Store

Sunset Graves

Sunset Graves

I don’t properly train-spot the Sunset Graves kit, but I think there’s something modular in there, no sign of a laptop. There are thick sweet drones, the lead lines have a vague air of melancholy that channels the best early UK dance music, beats that never seem to actually loop, always evolving and slightly off centre. Pleasingly complex without losing the groove. Some proper bass that shakes my camera while I’m filming. One track from near the end has a heavyweight crush of reminiscent of Tackhead. All you can see of him is strings of red lights and thin coloured lines projected against the dark, in blocks – almost TV static. But not static.


Thomas Ragsdale

Thomas Ragsdale

Thomas Ragsdale is second up, after a quick handover, his visuals vertical lines that I can’t tell if waver with the beat or have their own lifecycle. Starkly monochrome after the neon purity of Sunset Graves’ colours. After the thick beatiness we’ve had Thomas starts pretty low key, half bass pulse and delayed piano figure with a spoken sample. There are some shiny guitar wash loops and ’89 vintage arpeggios that hint even further back to Edgar Froese, with a real sense of drama. He’s sparing with the beats, too, often a hinted at handclap scatter, or broken tambourine pattern.


¥ETI

¥ETI

Finally, we have ¥ETI, they start with just Adam, minus a good 18 inches of beard since I last saw him, hooded with some kind of Ood-like tendrils hanging out. They eschew the visuals of the rest of the evening. Adam building atmosfear with drones and Gregory Peck, and also does some good work in the lower registers. He does three numbers on his own before being joined by Tim the drummer from the Cosham Community Players Association, who basically goes the full Steve Noble: relentless hard driving free drumming, with one eye firmly on a pulse and the other ranging freely across the entire universe. They end up with a drum off between electronic and acoustic drums, which was pretty cool.