Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Brighton Festival 2006

As Brighton Festival closes its doors, packs up it's tent and drives off into the sunset for a whole year, I can't help but feel a slight melancholy. Year after year, the creative masterminds of this fine planet congregate in the coffee shops, nightclubs and concert halls of Brighton and embark on sharing a little of their genius with us and this year was no exception.
In particular were the sweet vocal harmonies of the un-instrumented chorus, Naked Voices, set in the splendidly lavish 'Spiegeltent' at the Old Stiene. Naked Voices soothed my mood with Old English drinking songs, cool cool Jazz and romantic French Madrigals, all sung in perfect layers.
Admittedly, I was less fond of the Jazzy Bee Bop tunes, but by the sounds of my fellow audience (especially the very loud lady sat next to me, but good on her for her enthusiasm despite my eardrums), I was a minority in this case. The members of Naked Voices showed a genuine passion for their work making them a delight to hear. The perfect brightener to a dreary and cold Saturday afternoon.
Also worth noting, in fact worth shouting about, was the spectacular music/dance extravaganza of Warp Moves at the Brighton Dome.
This explosive collaboration between Warp Record's Plaid and Wayne McGregor of Random Dance set a grin on my face that lasted days. The night opened with the creepy choreography of Darren Johnston’s company Array combined with the deliciously dark sounds of Aphex Twin. His atmospheric 'twin mannequin' dance had my eyes firmly rooted to the stage, lest I miss one eerie and perfectly synchronized move. Just as I was settling into this wonderfully clockwork display, I was interrupted by the warm tones and outrageously clever beat-box talents of Jamie Lidell. Then a quick break and back for a hypnotic session with Plaid and, video artist, Bob Jaroc. All setting the scene nicely for the leaping, bounding Random Dance, building to a precisely woven climatic crescendo of movement.
Rocked my world Warp Moves.
Rocked me like a baby.
Rocked like mountains.
Rocked with pink and white spearmint stripes through and through.