Reviewed on 09/10/2022 by benxtan
Link: https://www.songkick.com/concerts/40283816-autechre-at-barbican-centre
I saw Autechre and Zoviet France on 07/10/2022 at 10pm at the Barbican in London. It was a last minute decision as I didn't realise they were playing until the day of. (Foolishly I wasn't following Autechre on Songkick! This has been rectified.)'
The crowd was asked to move inside Barbican Hall (great venue, saw Robert Henke's CBM 8032 AV here) and we all sat down in an orderly fashion in our pre-assigned seats - Stalls K58 for me.
Zoviet France set was great and super chilled. The calm before the storm, and I appreciated that the lights were still on. As the set went on I started noticing more and more details in the projection of the forest behind them. Surreal.
Autechre played in almost complete darkness save for small glimmers of light from the machines they were using on stage and the odd mobile phone here and there. The music sounded like like it was produced by aliens, and the first few minutes were reminiscent of disguised robots transforming.
I love gigs with visuals and lights, so the absence of this was a new experience for me. I closed my eyes and started imagining my own visuals to accompany the aural assault, the synchronised chaos, the cacophony of auditory delights. Abstract shapes, cityscapes, and landscapes with of lakes and mountains beating in tandem as new sounds were conjured and manifested themselves around the 3D space.
At times, I entered a meditative state by rocking myself back and forth but was unable to sustain the thin balance due to the randomness of the music.
It was a different kinf od show to anything I've been to before, and I would definitely go again.
10/10 would Autechre again!
(The only thing I would do different is sit in the centre rather than on the wing.)
Weezer
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