Evian Christ / Koreless / Lorenzo Senni / Visionist / TCF @ RNCM, Manchester, 29 March

Despite little being known about upcoming producer TCF, his lush acousmatic composition juxtaposed by gravelly digital decay has stunned audiences and got critics talking. Although influences from artists such as Tim Hecker and Jóhann Jóhannsson are there, it feels like TCF presents a genuinely refreshing experience of listening, refusing to remain static for long, and walking the line of ambient musique concrète and synthetic rave/death motifs with the ease of a producer who’s been crafting for years.

After TCF comes Visionist, and while his talent is unquestionable it feels that with a lack of a dancefloor the use of 2-step rhythms is flatly received. It is a little disappointing, as much of his music possesses moments of minimalist beauty, and in fact his performance only comes to the fore when moods are allowed to hang in the air. Italian synthesist Lorenzo Senni excels at this technique. His compositions potentially lend themselves to wild TR-808 rhythms underneath, but instead he performs clinical exercises in restraint. Senni’s monolithic synthesiser sequences oscillate from the claustrophobic to the ecstatic, with an insistent percussive tone as if imagining a modern, Italo disco-inspired Steve Reich.

The night, however, belongs to headliner Evian Christ. Accompanied by a visually arresting backdrop of haze and dot matrix projections, Josh Leary’s performance is perfectly conceived for the RNCM without losing the aggressive nature of his last release, Waterfall. Diverting heavily from his usual live set, Christ’s performance derives from several moments found in his finest work set to a dark cinematic backdrop, as if the audience is remembering disintegrated moments from seeing him perform at a club the night before. Suitably closing the evening is UK bass producer turned ambient minimalist Koreless, who provides a delightful end of cascading melodies and an effervescent wash of deep audiovisual tones.