A Midsummer Day's Dream @ The Tramway, 25 June
Once again, the Tramway (and Optimo) step up to the plate and boldly go in directions that seldom few have the balls to with A Midsummer Day’s Dream, an amalgamation of cinema, art, experimental music and soundscapes. In principle, it’s all a bit ponderous and geared towards beard-stroking; in practice, it’s the recipe for a criminally fun day.
The day’s first performance is deftly handled by NY composer Tristan Perich, whose 1-bit symphonies offer an explosive range of sound that seems to go against the strictly regimented format of his compositions. Whether you choose to view it as a brave tribute to vintage gaming history or just a minimalist’s bleepy take on Mogwai, it’s still mesmerising.
Lucky Dragons’ performance sets an insurmountable benchmark for today’s acts in terms of sheer childish glee, roping (in some cases, literally) audience members into creating their show for them. Whether it would work with a more reserved crowd, no one knows, but the sight of a diverse selection of Glasgow musos groping each other in order to create accompanying waves of noise is refreshingly uplifting.
After a mixed bag of short movies that range from surreally satisfying to infuriating, London quintet Rhosyn provide a breezily orchestral strain of folk-pop that, while it may be the day’s most direct performance, is also one of the most accomplished. Rose Dagul’s voice is the key to this, angelically sweet but prone to explosive outburst of emotion that adds numerous layers of drama to their already bittersweet repertoire.
Shifting locations to the Tramway’s main space, the music of avant-disco pioneer Arthur Russell is being brought to colourful life by Arthur’s Landing. Call it funk, jazz or something between those two random poles, it’s still an ass-shakingly perfect performance. Vibrant Caribbean flavours are in plentiful supply with Mustafa Ahmed’s delicate percussive work but the boldest character comes from Peter Zummo’s trombone.
Cosey Fanni Tutti may not be best pleased when their video projections give up the ghost after a handful of songs but it seems very few in the room notice, their bodies already firmly in the grip of Chris & Cosey’s potent industrial bombardment. While their beats are enough to get bodies swaying, Cosey’s husky vocals lend a seductively human allure while the duo add dense layers of distorted guitars and noisy miscellanea to the insistent bass. Coming from this poker-faced pair it’s the final surprise, 1.5 hours of joy-filled musical abandon to round off a remarkable day of artistic exploration.