Gorgon City Live - A New Direction For House Music?
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The heat when entering Edinburgh’s virtually subterranean La Belle Angele was almost enough to turn me away, but despite the tropical temperatures the building’s wooden framework was refreshingly quirky. It felt reminiscent of discovering music in my garden shed.
Gorgon City played Edinburgh in one of Nightvision’s house events to promote their new album ‘Sirens’, which includes hits such as ‘Ready for your love’ ft MNEK and varies from pop house tracks such as ‘Unmissable’ ft Zak Abel to acid-influenced ‘Go All Night’ ft Jennifer Hudson.
But this gig was by no means just a DJ set. The North London producers had much more in mind for their audience - the stage was kitted out with a live set-up, including keys and drums, to execute their set as more of a gig. Matt “RackNRuin” Robson-Scott, half of the duo, said when I caught him later that with the increasing price of house tickets viewers deserve more of a show - and with singers Lulu James and Josh Barry introducing each song it certainly felt like one.
In fact, Gorgon City loses money doing the set as they do. While I find that an honourable sentiment, no-one can deny that pausing so long between songs is both annoying and decreases the amount of music delivered to the audience. But with consumers wanting to hear the popular tracks as they know them perhaps artists must look to their performance rather than music to increase interest.
The show certainly was a visual spectacle - Lulu James and Josh Barry hyped the crowd and took turns singing over Manchester band The Six, making the stage truly engaging to watch. Kye “Foamo” Gibbon, Gorgon CIty’s other half, even took to a drum machine (albeit occasionally out of time - perhaps the syncopation was desired) and Matt alternated between decks and keys.
In such an intimate venue I managed to get up close and personal at the front - so close in fact that I could see that Matt was completely shoeless. I thought this might’ve been a habit he’d picked up but he later confessed to me that it was solely for hygiene reasons - I guess next time I go to a gig without socks I better take my shoes off too.
Following Gorgon City came Redlight, who delivered a more typical set with great innovation - the highlight being his twist on much-loved track ‘9TS’. Although his set cut out due to a technical hitch midway through, this was more the format usual Nightvision clubbers were expecting. That being said, many did leave before Redlight’s set - perhaps they had been better informed than I had about what ‘Gorgon City Live’ actually meant.
Words by Lucy Evans
