Metronomy
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SBTRKT + GALLOPS
Barbican and Eat Your Own Ears presents:
A very special show for the opening night of the Bicycle Film Festival’s 10th anniversary. The festival was founded by Brendt Barbur after he was hit by a bus while riding his bike in New York City. Determined to turn a negative experience into a positive one, in 2001 Barbur started the Bicycle Film Festival to celebrate the bicycle through music, art and, of course, film.
The first half of the show will feature Bicycle Film Festival shorts, projected on to the Barbican Hall screen with live DJ accompaniment from Sbtrkt; the second half will feature the Barbican debut of electro-pop mavericks Metronomy, who will perform with their own bespoke film projection and light show.
Metronomy was founded by Joseph Mount, inspired in his home town of Totnes in Devon by the electronic adventures of groups like Autechre, LFO and Aphex Twin. The group released their debut album Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) in June 2006, a recording that aimed to combine instrumental electro-pop with the enduring influence of Totnes. With the follow-up CD Nights Out, Mount started to add vocals to the mix; meanwhile the project became a genuine gigging band with the addition in 2009 of drummer in Anna Prior and bassist Gbenga Adelekan. The new Metronomy shifted to completely live performance, proving it is possible for electronic bands to put on show as authentic as any rock band. Mount also releases remixes under the name Metronomy, and has remixed many artists including Roots Manuva, Klaxons, Franz Ferdinand, Zero 7 and many others.
Gallops will follow with a set on the after-show Club Stage. Gallops are where live electronics and jagged guitars meet on the floor and thrash the s**t out of each other until neither one is left standing. Seamlessly blending organic and synthetic in a cohesive manner, while showcasing progressive song-writing without alienating the listener. This is as much for headphone listening in a dark room as it is for festival dance-offs.
Taking influence from such drastically varied artists (Aphex Twin, Fugazi, Vangelis, Sun-Ra, Steve Reich…) goes someway to explaining the provocatively unique shape of this, their 5 track debut EP, which firmly stakes a claim on behalf of the 4 piece as 1 of the UK’s brightest hopes.