July 2014
So, the first Scope, quite a success.
2 sites from nil, 2 sets from Captain Poopdeck, and one from The Zero Map. Some Elektrocreche action and plenty of milling about.
And Lissajous figures, Karl has been programming them up for me.
Nil
The Caroline of Brunswick upstairs room is L shaped with a section missing the rather fetching sticky carpet. This is nil’s home for the evening their pile of things scattered about as you would expect, toys wine glasses small instruments, clinking and pinging and rolling and blowing things of every description. Their first set was very intense; quiet, intricate, serious. We closed the window to keep out the random drifting of music from the smoking yard. At some point they do something that makes someone in the audience laugh. Dan picks up on this and continues it. Its most alarming.
Nil’s second set is a little more relaxed than the first. Scattered and funny involving hiding under aluminium foil and some mooing. Audience participation as well, if you were so inclined.
Captain Poopdeck
Captain Poopdeck took the helm on a table mid-room, Djellabah-clad beats and lots of number related samples, he has some fine new equipment and has spent a deal of the evening reading the manual for some of it. Which is always good to see.
His second set is a stormer, he’s upped the uniform stakes, with a nice yachting hat and pilots shirt. We throw a blue light on him which suits and he gets down to some top rolling beats and bass with, oddly, more counting. English eccentricity combining with deft electronica to marvellous effect.
Zero Map
The Zero Map set is the pivot point of the evening, two projectors throwing flames and custom animations around. Chloe’s voice is more prominent than at previous SoG shows. It has some triple octave dropping device on it and she plays a lot of theremin with a Blade-Runnerish stripe of light across her eyes. Karl’s guitar delays in a set that spirals in a nicely psychedelic manner.