Royksopp @ Carling Academy, Glasgow
Date: 6th October 2005
Support: Guests
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As a live venue you get the feeling that the Carling Academy is not quite adequate enough for the job, lack of choice in beer, shortage of toilets and a sound system that sounds a little precarious - plus the strange feeling that the atmosphere could easily be killed by the collective realisation that the Academy used to be an aging Bingo Hall.
Despite the dubieties of the venue, Royksopp played a powerful, engaging show that ensures them a vibrant market, with no shortage of fans, in Glasgow. The two Norwegians, Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge, took to the stage just after 9pm; wearing red shirts with black ties and black suit trousers. Looking suitably 80’s style nouveau riche, they began with the suitably ambient 'What Else Is There?' The first quarter of their set was ambience par excellence, and the fantastic lightshow had most of the crowd becalmed and hypnotised from the start. A female vocalist accompanied quite a few of Royksopp’s tunes, adding her grand, operatic tones to the soothing ambience, from the opening song and most notably in 'Only This Moment'. The set built up progressively until the crowd were, by and large, bouncing all over the place. Hits like 'So Easy' and 'Sparks' were totally captivating, euphoric, and toward the end of the set 'Nok E Nok' and 'Istanbul Forever' had everyone activated and jumping!
Royksopp have a great sound – tight, crystalline Electro-Dance with a slice of Euro-Pop. But it is difficult to pin them down exactly – they sound almost 80’s, verging toward Kraftwerk style mechanics as they stand over synthesizers, electronic drum pads and a musical desk. But, adorned with shirts and ties, they worked like an efficient factory, not without certain wizardry too. Blending Euro-beats with more intense Electronica that was fresh and at times down tempo. There was the feeling that the music still had the potential to move up a few notches and really burst out, but what makes this duo slightly different is that they have not simply moved directly into bouncing generic electronica consisting entirely of pure thumping bass; they have actually tried to sculpt their own atmospheric Dance-Pop. Indeed, at times their sound verged into the likes of Erasure’s 90’s era electronic pop, only with much more class and without the overtly-camp sexuality, and they would remerge sounding not too dissimilar to Scotland’s very own Mylo.
Royksopp mixed well-crafted, soothing, Ambient Trance with moderate Electronica and Dance. There was a general feeling that they could have unleashed themselves a little more. The set finished before eleven - ridiculously early! - and because of this one got the feeling that they were testing the water with this show, giving a sample of what they can do, before fully unleashing or retreating. However, Royksopp are making substantial ripples in the musical pond and with the success of their first album – Melody A.M. - and the impending release of their new album – The Understanding. Only the future will tell whether or not Royksopp were a passing fluke, or whether or not have the substance and intention to make innovative dance music that will keep them popular throughout the U.K.
Overall the gig was lively, colourful, and promising!
Royksopp: [link]
For more information you can visit: http://www.royksopp.com
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