Troyka Spread Their Intellectual Wings Over Cardiff
Published
It is always a pleasure discovering a band that can justly mimic there own difficult and intricate album on stage but bring the added bonus of crowd interaction through a live performance and TROYKA deliver just that.
Walking through the Dora Stoutzker hall (one of many theatres) located in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, there was an instant impression of prestige to the creative institution. Not only specifically built to reverberate the acoustics of the music around the 400 capacity venue, but the cascades of tungsten and lilac lamps really casts a beautiful scene for the spectators to enjoy when first entering. Ranging from alternative teenage youth to music-wise seniors, TROYKA’s audience knows no age limit when it comes to their fresh slice of experimental instrumental genius. Also unlike most locations, the stage is level with the listener’s seats making the experience incredibly intimate.
The casually dressed group make their way into their electronical nest of input leads and flashing lights as they are warmly applauded on. A warm jitter of excitement takes hold as the band adorn their sunburst Stratocaster, Sonar drum kit and Novation keyboard set, ready to make fine use of their equipment which also includes a mighty arsenal of effects pedals. They quickly consult each other regarding what key the first song is in and use a drumstick count to open the show.
‘Ornithophobia’ happened to be track number one and the moment the London-based trio began to play, a wash of self-gratifying concentration befell the musicians. Unconventionally facing in on one another instead of facing the spectators, it is quite noticeable how the band not only play for others but for themselves as well. Their fluid motions while playing are almost hypnotic, every note plucked, struck and slapped too fluent to appear difficult to imitate.
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The crowds focused observation is thick and palpable as they comfortably sit, watching the instrumentalists in awe. During the second track, ‘Life Was Transient’, the synthesized bass lines of Kit Downes interlocked with the spacey guitar slide techniques of Chris Montague, leave a desirable taste in the mouth as the steady but educated rhythmic beat of Joshua Blackmore, spoon feeds you every metaphorical bite.
Among the two tracks mentioned, they also included ‘Arcades’, ‘Crawler’ & ‘Magpies’ in their repertoire. We were also lucky enough to hear a new track named ‘Race the Sun’ (written by Kit Downes), which raised the temperature of the performance with its upbeat nature capturing the title perfectly. We were also fortunate with another Valentines Day skipping its way into our lives as this gave the trio an opportunity to play a song entitled ‘Rest’ which they only play around the time of this yearly celebration. Replacing common drumsticks with Jazz brushes, the song almost depicts a flower covered valley followed by smooth bass lines followed by delicate rain-like splashes on the cymbals.
The question of just how these three men can create such unconventional (and at times, uncomfortable) virtuoso music and still create a sense of elegance around how it is performed is asked as the hall empties. TROYKA’s live performance on the 13th February illustrated their love for experimental time signatures (inspired from cinema soundtrack influences among other things) as well as thoroughly rewarding those who came to enjoy their high brow sound.
To find out more about TROYKA click here.
To visit the TROYKA Facebook page click here.
Words & interview by Nathan Roach
