Music / Review
Review: cktrl, Rough Trade – ‘Dreamy soundscapes filled the venue’
From the very first note he plays, you can tell cktrl is not an artist willing to abide by the norm.
Cktrl, standing for Can’t Keep to Reality, plays a masterful mix of jazz and classical with a contemporary twist, refusing to be put into one box with his sound.
I headed down to Rough Trade for the penultimate night of his recent tour. The Yield Tour, named after his latest EP released in the back end of 2022, has seen cktrl travelling to destinations ranging from Warsaw and Berlin to London and now to Bristol.
is needed now More than ever
Yield is a five-track EP full of soft instrumentals and minimal, calming vocals that I was excited to see come alive in person.
Support from MĀDŁY kicked the evening off, bringing an enthralling medley of jazz, hip hop and neo-soul to her set. A cover of Idles Mother kicked it off before transitioning to tracks sung completely in French with a primer in English beforehand.
Ending with a lively jungle remix of one of her tracks, the crowd was suitably warmed up for cktrl.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpiecjOo4Ev/?hl=en
One thing that stands out about cktrl’s set is the calming effect it seems to have. A man of few words, with just a quick ‘thank you’ at the end as the only dialogue with the crowd, he instead weaves a story through his melodies.
Everybody is enthralled by the haunting instruments he masterfully plays, as he switches with ease between a clarinet and two saxophones.
Dreamy soundscapes of natural sounds and soft vocalisations fill the room as cktrl drifts through his discography, for a show that emphasises contrast.
One second frank silence and delicate rhythm crackle through the air, the next an immersive symphony launches, all masterfully puppeteered by cktrl’s lead instruments.
The reality of a rainy evening drifted away, as cktrl transformed Rough Trade into something special.
Main photo: Kyran Wood
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- Review: Courtney Marie Andrews, Trinity – ‘The epitome of country classic’
- Review: Isaac Gracie, The Exchange – ‘This is Gracie at his peak’
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