In between Flo Rida and T-Pain making their mark on commercial radio, it’s easy to forget that REAL music still exists. The sort of music made by people with a love for sound, a love for writing, a love for the instrument and a love for the production. Thankfully, there are groups like Gotan Project, who returned to the Sydney Opera House last night to remind us that this sort of passion remains a popular (though too often concealed) part of modern music culture.
Gotan Project are a Paris-based new-wave-jazz-meets-tango three piece, made up of Philippe Cohen Solal (France), Eduardo Makaroff (Argentina), and Christoph H. Müller (Switzerland). The group have released three studio albums, with their second, Lunático, breaking through international waters thanks to their collaboration with American band Calexico, and a television campaign for Finish dishwashing detergent featuring the delightful “Epoca”.
It was this song (which you can watch below) that surprisingly opened the set; an epic arrangement which saw the song gradually introduce the seven members of the live ensemble, as it built up to a climax which surpassed the already impressive recording – instantly winning over the crowd. From there on out, we were hanging on every note, on every word, and as the video background (engineered by multimedia artist Prisca Lobjoy) made its debut in the second number, we couldn’t help but be hypnotised either.
I went into the gig wondering whether or not their style would tire on me after a while. Regretfully, I only have Lunático to my name, and while a favourite of mine over the last few years, I was doubtful how it would translate live – and unsure as to how it compared to the rest of their material. Had they put out three studio records – the third of which, Tango 3.0, they were touring tonight – with much of the same? To my delight, I very quickly discovered that every Gotan track is unique, adventurous, leaving me enthralled from the first note to the last. I daresay I didn’t want it to end!
This said, calling their music unique or even adventerous is an understatement. On paper, this fusion of Jazz, Tango, Trip-Hop and Electronica sounds like a concoction too bizarre to work – yet it all feels so natural when masterfully engineered by the trio behind the music.
While on record the shifts between genres often goes unnoticed, when performed live, the shifts are used to a truly impressive effect. While our aural focus begins in most of their tracks on the accordion (played beautifully over the knee by Facundo Torres), the guitar (Eduardo Makaroff lifting it to the Gods as he performs) or the violin, it’s when the beats from Philippe and Christoph kick in that the tracks hit you in the face with that bit of “WOW” factor. You aren’t allowed to ignore the creshendos, nor the payoffs, as the songs shift and change – all part of an audio visual spectacular, which couldn’t have sounded better in the acoustics of the Opera House.
While you had the standard piano, guitar and even mandolin fare, there was plenty more to add to their unique live sound. On our left, Philippe Cohen Solal added in some Andrew Bird esque whistling to the equation, often adding some hand gestures to give off the impression he was telling us a story. Meanwhile, Claudia Pannone’s beautiful voice provided us with our songstress (and seducer) for the evening – while accordianist Facundo Torres joined her for a duet at one point, showing his talents were underused.
The chemistry between Torres and Pannone was played on throughout the show as the set introduced a bit of theatre into the equation. But it was the man on our right, Christoph H. Müller who provided the most interesting of additions. In addition to at least two laptops, I’m pretty sure he was using a Wii remote as his musical wand… and let’s not forget to mention the cowbell or the impressive light touch screen technology.
Crowd participation was encouraged, too – and from time to time, the normally timid Opera House crowd rose to their feet to dance along to the more excitable numbers.
As for the soundtrack, they played quite a few tracks off Lunático, while the new Gotan 3.0 was featured heavily, alongside a few older tracks here and there. “Panamericana”, off the new record, was a highlight of the evening, showcasing their most diverse range of soundscapes yet – mixing in a taste of the North American south amongst their usual flavour, in a truly epic 10 minute-or-so number that brought the audience to their feet in adoration.
The night ended with a well deserved two encores – but really, this was a gig so wonderful that they really could have kept the audience entranced for hours more.
If you consider yourself a fan of music, you must experience Gotan Project. An aural feast, a visual walk on the imaginary and beautiful side of life, and easily one of my favourite gigs of the year.
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For a taste of the video installation, watch the music video for “La Gloria”, which was performed beautifully by Gotan Project tonight – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFzk_MX1DCo. I am a particular fan of the GOAAA….TAN. Watch it to see what I mean.
The tour continues to Melbourne and Perth later this week.
MELBOURNE FORUM THEATRE WEDNESDAY DEC 8 SOLD OUT
MELBOURNE FORUM THEATRE THURSDAY DEC 9
Ticketmaster 136 100 www.ticketmaster.com.au
PERTH PERTH CONCERT HALL SUNDAY DEC 12
Boc’s 08 9484 1133 www.bocsticketing.com.au
