SOHN / FYFE / Atom Tree @ Stereo, 16 September

Live Review by George Sully | 22 Sep 2014

The feud between analogue instrumentalists and electronic innovators might never end; the former argue for gritty traditionalism over safe pre-programming, the latter favour limitless experimentation over restrictive physicality. In the heady days preceding Scotland’s referendum, tonight’s triple bill at Stereo is a clear vote cast for electronics.

Glaswegian up-and-coming trio Atom Tree fill the basement venue with decadent, buoyant electronica, boasting cymbal crescendos and twinkling melodies, drawing an impressively busy audience for an opening act. Julie Knox, sultry and central, lays down a confident vocal, while Shaun Canning’s deft fingers rock the keys, toying with the established pace of crowd favourites like Die For Your Love, drawing out the bass like a big flirt.

Anyone who’d swung by Paul “FYFE” Dixon’s Soundcloud and sampled his richly layered compositions might feel shortchanged at the simplistic setup tonight: just a synthpad, steel guitar, and a drummer. But the humble man’s voice – reedy, urgent and brimming with soul – wins over the crowd from the first verse of Conversations. Lead single For You is achingly powerful, and he eschews the studio version’s sax solo for a segue into the beachy St. Tropez, before closing all too soon with early release Solace.

FYFE will be supporting tonight’s headliner on a tour of Europe – Glasgow being their first date – and man, folk are in for a treat. As a venue, Stereo is a no-nonsense, rough and ready joint. But dark maestro SOHN has transformed the stage into a neon opera: black curtains, smoke, and a gimmicky lighting rig become a mesmeric, transcendental experience, breathing and glowing as the music pulses. His album’s titular track Tremors is ecstatically welcomed, and Tempest’s stop-start intro falls away to a staggering a capella rendition, showing off Mr. Taylor’s vocal prowess. Between all this the man himself is, despite the gloomy aesthetic (dig that monastic black hood), affably chatty and self-deprecating. Ushering the packed crowd closer to the stage, he triggers Artifice, sending revellers into a sweaty mass that’d make Golden Teacher proud, before seamlessly transitioning our rhythmic applause into the gallop of Lights. He closes with The Wheel, the track that skyrocketed him to e-fame late 2012, and the audience is euphoric.

His entourage might provide necessary live instrumentation and support, but they feed into the SOHN identity, much as FYFE and Atom Tree are the brain-progeny of talented individuals. This holistic experience is transportive: the lights go up and attendees are trembling; “vibrations of tremors that shook long ago”, so the man says. 

http://sohnmusic.com