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Review: 6 Music Fest – Friday night, Motion
Roots Manuva – looking very dapper in a Dickensian three piece – delivered a damn decent opening set for the early arrivals as the 6 Music Festival opened at Motion. He and his band delighted the crowd with a set of innovative tunes, drawing on dub to provide a refreshingly British take on rap – lyrically and musically. Subterranean bass dominated supplemented by all manner of squally scratching and sampling, all sweetened by soulful backing vocals. Alas a somewhat murky sound meant that Manuva’s vocals were somewhat lost in the mix, a shame as what did come through were words that strayed away from the stereotypical topics beloved of his peers over the Pond.
Savages caused a monster stir across the venue with a one in / one out policy enforced early as people tried to cram in to catch a glimpse. They battered those who made it with a brutal set of post punk songs. The tunes were challenging – no easy choruses or take away riffs – and all the better for it; glacial slabs of guitar reminiscent of John McGeoch and supple tribal drumming with Jah Wobblesque bass. Singer Jehnny Beth clearly felt a need to connect with the capacity crowd and crowd surfed her way to the middle of the room Iggy style for arguably the most talked about moment of the night.
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Sherwood and Pinch had the unenviable task of following Savages and preceding the headliners. Two blokes practicing the art of live mixing are never gonna compete visually with a rock n roll band, but they were a good fit – their bowel wrenching bass heavy grooves providing the perfect warm up for the Scream. Samples abounded as the pair worked the crowd, ghostly voices from deepest dub and slow grooves got the crowd moving and skanking.
Primal Scream delivered a compelling argument that they are the finest live British band on the circuit. They take all of their influences blend them with their love of all things danceable to deliver a truly unique experience. The set covered most of their recordings to date with new material slotting in beautifully, and even buggering up the new single didn’t knock them off their stride. The crowd lapped up the tunes, making for an evangelically inclusive celebration of music, driven by the best sound of the night. Devastating guitar, super groovy bass, rave embellishments all driven by funky drums, the Scream are truly a band to unite the tribes.
Photos courtesy of BBC. Click here for more photos, features and clips from the 6 Music Festival.
Read more: Preview: Bristol24/7 at 6 Music Fest Fringe