Institute of Contemporary Arts

To Rococo Rot / Bradley & Poulet

Date: 20 February 2008

To Rococo Rot. Photo: Gabriel Green

Jahan Nazeer

It was a cold, misty night in London. Hopping off the bus and trotting down the Mall, the setting was as evocative as it was icy. To Rococo Rot were stopping off for one night only at the ICA, having blazed a trail through Italy and Switzerland and with their whistle stop tour continuing on to Dublin and Belfast. Tonight they were supported by Alex Bradley and Charles Poulet, the guys behind last years ambisonic performance Whiteplane2. As if reflecting the misty conditions outside, the main room was dark and smoky as we finished our drinks and read the programme notes for the evening. After some jazz records and a mid-week catch up with friends, the crowd were ready for the first act.

Alex Bradley and Charles Poulet have worked on this single project for over three years, "questioning our relationship with sound, light, immersive performance and spatial audio". Entitled BloodFlow, Tempest & Electronic Hum the performance is their latest offering derived from these concepts. Opening with sub bass rumbles, like muffled engine sounds increasing in intensity as if propelling a commercial jet, the two gradually added ghostly chimes and industrial fragments of metallic sound, all with the backdrop of juttering 'no signal' projected visuals. Closer to an exhibition than a gig, the audience stood captivated as the room rattled and reverberated to the command of their continuous, cinematic performance. These guys are definitely worth looking into if you haven't already.

German group To Rococo Rot were next up. Currently promoting their recent mini-lp abc123, the concept behind this material is rather interesting. Using the Helvetica typeface, letters were imposed onto graphic midi files, setting a group of parameters and creating sounds. The idea being that these sounds were "not made with musical logic", but with the typeface. Confused? Don't worry. Taking the stage, TRR opened with hip hop style drum loops and piano hooks. Adding live drums and electric bass to the mix, more loops were cut in and out along with more layers of sampled pad sounds. Heads were nodding almost immediately as the trio fell into a groove reminiscent of the ambience of trip hop from the 90s but with a definite European electronic twist. With short but enjoyable banter between tunes, TRR displayed influences from many different genres: slowed-down techno, drum and bass-like breakdowns and even dubstep were all to be found as they filtered and modulated their way through an accomplished set. With each track building like a dance tune, this is not a group that relies on concepts or technical prowess alone. There were some beautiful phrases containing real human emotion alongside the more machine-like bleeps, tones and metallic scrapings. TRR's infectious German geekiness had taken over the crowd and turned head nods into foot taps and more. Synth parts echoed and faltered around the room as laser guns and bass lines rang out, filtering down into radioactive sunsets of industrial orchestra. Finishing with a request, and being called back for an encore, To Rococo Rot didn't leave until the crowd was absolutely satisfied. They are in Ireland tomorrow to conclude their tour and are definitely worth checking out. Concepts and good music in equal measure. A great night.

Bradley & Poulet. Photo: Gabriel Green

To Rococo Rot. Photo: Gabriel Green