Heart of Noise

While music lovers from all over the UK flocked to Glastonbury last weekend, I headed to the Barbican to see Dirty Projectors. Glastonbury might have the sunshine and Kylie, but we had one of the most exciting bands making music at the moment PLUS the 20-piece contemporary music ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, all the way from New York.

Dave Longstreth, the daddy of the Dirty Projectors, is responsible for collecting this band of pretty extraordinary musicians who have collaborated with none other than David Byrne and Bjork. How’s that for a seal of approval?

For the first half of the gig (there was an interval and everything), Alarm Will Sound accompanied the band for a complete run through of Longstreth’s  concept album The Getty Address, released by Dirty Projectors in 2005. The self described “glitch Opera” is about a musician, Don Henley who is at first contemplating suicide. But more broadly, the composition draws on Aztec and Mexican themes, as well as post 9/11 Western Culture.

The band set the scene, coming on in hoods, the girls in alternating red, blue and yellow and making for an ethereal atmosphere. But regardless off whatever narrative was going on, it was quite easy to sit back and get absorbed in the music - a contemporary classical soundscape, with brass and strings playing a major role, and added haunting harmonies and percussion riffs from the Dirty Projectors.

After the break (yes, there was interval and everything), you sensed the band were able to let their hair down. Longstreuth and Angel Deradoorian, who had swapped her cape for denim shorts, were up first and performed the beautiful Two Doves, all the more so for the chemistry between the pair as they chatted beforehand.  Six more tracks from the amazing Bitte Orca followed from the whole band, with lots of flexibility and room for the musicians to breathe and flex their musical muscles on stage.

The Dirty Projectors are billed as an ‘experimental rock band’, and their use of textured harmonies and rhythm is astounding and always original. Dave Longstreth looks like a kid in a sweet shop with all these contrasting sounds to play with, and in the first half, was semi-conducting Alarm Will Sound grooving along with his long limbs akimbo.

However in my mind, it’s the three-part singing between the ladies that really stands out. Just moving the shape of their mouths – from an ‘eh’ to an ‘ah’ – seems to change the whole emotional pull and drama of one phrase. The performance of Stillness is the Move, with Amber singing the solo and managing to do guitar solo at the same time, almost moved me to tears.  

Seeing this powerful singing style, along with the tight-knit support and complex melodies going on beneath literally made the hairs on my neck stand on end. I’d gladly swap a whole sun-soaked Glastonbury weekend for this one very special evening in with the Dirty Projectors.

NB These photos were taken by the lovely Anika in London, who very kindly allowed them to be reproduced here.