
Cosmo Sheldrake and Bunty Looping
Cosmo Sheldrake, Bunty Looping
Cosmo Sheldrake, Bunty Looping @ The Rose Hill, Brighton, UK, November 23, 2024,
Dec 02, 2024
Photography by Nick Roseblade
Web Exclusive
Matinee gigs aren’t as common as they should be. When one comes along you need to pay attention. When an excellent one appears, you need to go. So, when The Rose Hill announced they were putting on a matinee Cosmo Sheldrake show, as his evening one sold out quickly, I knew it would be something not to miss. The beauty of a daytime gig, as well as being home for dinner rather than grabbing scran out, is the whole family can go. My daughter has been chomping at the bit to go to The Rose Hill and we all like Sheldrake’s music, so it was a no brainer.
When we got to The Rose Hill, we picked out a good view of the stage. As my daughter is only six the bar stools by the window were exactly what we were after. After a quick walk around the venue. Eyes wide open at the creepy dolls, papier mâché SpongeBob and all the fun artwork on the walls it was time for the opener.
Bunty Looping lived up to her name by performing 30-mins of live vocal looping. Through words, different vocal sounds and tones Bunty was able to create hypnotic, improvised, pieces of music that had a bounce to them so you could dance, and people did. At the end of her first song there was an almighty BANG and Bunty looked a bit worried. While it sounded cool, it turns out she’d received a little electric shock. Luckily this wasn’t her last ever gig and the next songs created went off without a hitch. Throughout her set my daughter was mesmerised. Part wonder at what was being created, with no instruments, other than a voice. Part enjoyment as the music slapped, and part I want a go at that! Bunty’s music leans heavily as much into avant-garde as it does reggae, drum ‘n bass and electronica. This mix is what makes her sets so visceral and bloody enjoyable! Sadly after 30-mins, or so, her set was over. We applauded and settled down to a short interval for more exploring before Cosmo Sheldrake took to the stage.

Sheldrake’s set started off very similar to Bunty’s. He started off by looping his vocals to create basslines and beats. Then he layered this with more detail to add texture. Finally, he then sang over the top of it. Some of this was English. Some nonsense. Just scatting, or making sounds, which fitted with the rhythms. It was pretty fun. After the first song he told the sold-out crowd “I’ve recently updated my set up. So, I’m still not 100% sure how it all works. And if it just cuts out, that’s just how it goes”. And there was a glee in his eyes that was hard to ignore. You got the impression that he was improvising in the purest sense of the word. Just pressing buttons because he liked the sounds and if/when the sound didn’t interest him, more buttons were pressed, more noises made until he found that sweet spot. After three of these improvised pieces, he played “Bathed in Sound” , a song created from whale and fish noises. He introduced the band to us by playing the samples for us to listen out for “And the Parrot Fish on snare…” got a good laugh out of the crowd. Next, he played “Soil”. He told us that we were in Ecuador with a scientist friend, and she was looking for new variants of magic mushrooms. She found one and when she pulled it out of the ground recorded the sound of negative space in the soil. Then Bunty joined Sheldrake on stage. The music was more ethereal than his previous songs. Over the loops Bunty started singing “Into the imagination”, like a mantra. This was then expanded into English, Spanish and nonsense sounds. It was one of the highlights of the day. When he played “Stop the Music” the crowd really came alive and whooped it up. Especially my daughter. She was delighted to know one of the songs and beamed throughout. Sheldrake ended his set with another improvised number. This might have been his bassiest of the set. It was filled with wonky beats, brass and delightful vocal loops. When he finished, I realised he’d be on for an hour and 10 minutes. It hadn’t felt that long. When we left the weak winter sun had been replaced by an almost nighttime scene. But it was only 5:30pm.

On the way home we spoke about how fun, and clever, Bunty and Sheldrake were. My daughter was filled with the joy and enthusiasm of seeing something you enjoyed, but don’t quite understand, but want to talk about it. It hasn’t been mentioned yet, but I’m half expecting to see “Bunty’s looping pedal” on her Christmas list this year…
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