• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Carrie DeCunzo

Sep 24, 2024 By Nick Roseblade Photography by Nick Roseblade Web Exclusive

Back into the breach once more came to mind as I descended to stairs into the dank bellows of The Bee’s Mouth for a night of experimental music. Tonight’s melee was concocted by UK noise, experimental and avant-garde provocateur Duncan Harrison. And what a night he had put together.

Marienbad’s set started off the night with an atmospheric soundscape. It felt like a horror sound effects CD but with harsher textures and great melodies. As the set progressed the melodies became stronger. The music ebbed and flowed from harsh sounds to dare I say, almost subtle and gentle. But the melody was king, or queen, depending on your pronouns. There was a glorious moment when a gargantuan crunch dwarfed everything else. “Here we go” I thought, but as quickly as it had appeared it was over. Later it sounded like the music was feedbacking on itself in a wonderful loop. Then, gently at first, piano samples started to appear. Were these Erik Satie or original compositions? It’s hard to tell but they sounded awesome. Near the end of the set the music started to get more destructive, but the melodies held firm. At one point near the end, the screen behind went black and a “Source Not Found: HDMI2” appeared on the screen. This mirrored the music perfectly, even though it was a chance occurrence. Then the set was over.

After a brief break where Burning Witch was played Carrie DeCunzo started her set. This was the first time seeing DeCunzo live. I’ve been a fan since I first heard her Liquid Sugar cassette released on No Rent Records under Carrie Ford. After that I was hooked and snaffled up every release DeCunzo put out. DeCunzo has been on a mini-European tour and during the day I watched a live performance from Gothenburg. You know, to get an idea of what to expect. While that video is incredible and I implore you to check it out, it didn’t give me the slightest inclination as to what DeCunzo was going to play. For you see, instead of playing the same set. A mini greatest hit if you will, she decided to go off piste and deliver something new. Her set started off with melodic vocals over almost orchestral music. This gave way to cut up vocal samples over techno. Then BAM harsh noise exploded from the speakers which skewed into a piercing soundscape. Over this DeCunzo started singing again. The words were lost in the maelstrom, but her voice had so much clarity, and power, if felt like a gospel sample dropping in a twister. Then it was all over. After a moment of stunned silence. Jaws pick off the floor. Tears wiped away. Thunderous applause occurred. Over the years I’ve been to a LOT of gigs. Bands, experimental, jazz, classical orchestras, school kids dicking about with instruments, and this is up there as one of the most amazing and captivating things I’ve never witnessed. The next act had a LOT to live up to.

Luckily for us that was Christian Mirande. As he sat down on the makeshift bar table and stool, he jokingly said “I’m going to play the same set I did last night. I’m not going to recreate the fucking wheel like Carrie did…” we all chuckled. Mirande’s set starts off with low key ambient tones and strings. It was one of the prettiest pieces of music played all night. This then blended into laidback repetitive beat and a jazzy bassline. Over the top of this Mirande delivered some spoken word monologues. There were massive Twin Peaks vibes going on and I LOVED it. At one point he said, “Why I don’t like storms”, but instead of telling us why he didn’t he mentioned cloud formation and perception. His set followed a slight pattern: soundscapes then jazzy spoken word pieces. During another jazzy piece he said “Wrong File. Wrong Memory”. This line stayed with me for the rest of his set, and on the way home. It’s still with me now. I can’t explain why, but it struck a chord like seldom things do. Near the end of his set over some pulsating drones he said, “Like an angel crushing a Styrofoam cup after observing another AA meeting”. This made me laugh and wonder if the angel was in AA, or just watching in the rafters at the bleak scenes below. Then his set was over. Rumour has it that the set was culled from an un-yet released album. If, and when, this comes out it’ll be worth checking out.

The last act was Kiran Arora. Electronic bleep and bloops were the order of the day. As way MASSIVE basslines. The sound was incredibly textured with electronic motifs and field recordings. Arora was constantly adding sounds to his set. Nothing seemed to be removed after he twiddled a knob. At one point the bass was so fierce my eyes vibrated and vision was blurred for a few seconds. Pretty fun stuff. However, after the sets from DeCunzo and Mirande it felt flat. Almost 2D. This feels a bit harsh to say and I’m probably being a dick, but when you are in the presence of greatness you better bring, you’re a-game. I’m sure another night Arora’s set would have floored me and have more of an impact but coming off the back to two incredible performances, full of incentive ideas and flourishes it felt like a step back. I would happily see Arora again to be proved wrong though.

Then it was time to leave the warm confines of The Bee’s Mouth deepest and darkest recess and head back to normality and home. Harrison had put on a stella night of divisive music and ideas. His nights are always filled with interesting people and laughs. I can’t think of another promoter of experimental music who gives as much bang for the buck than Harrison. Needless to say, I’m chomping at the bit for the next one…