Thought I’d share some nice memories from my recent excursion with you all.

It had been at least a good 8 months since I last visited the Dam.
Far too long, I know…

Having done officially bugger all on my birthday this year, I figured it would be a good time to pay another visit, go on a Steak and Chocomel binge and see some mind blowing gigs @ The Melkweg. And that I did.

The first show I went to was the return of the Antipop Consortium. Their first in 6 years! This was amazingly well timed as I never got to see them the first time round, and have always kicked myself for it since they split in 2002. The first time I heard ‘Arrythmia‘, I was blown away by its originality and really felt the glitchy, mad fresh beats and lyrics, far more than any big name acts circulating at the time. This album really felt like a breath of fresh air, and I still consider it to be the album that opened my eyes to alternative hip-hop.

It was an amazing show, full of classic tunes old and new, fantastic energy and the sound system was top notch. All of them were totally on point on their respective machines, laptops and beatboxes, giving the sound a massive live feel. The highlight of the evening for me had to be “Ghost Lawns”. That tune sounds SO much heavier live than on record - a proper banger, it was amazing. Arrythmia classic “Ping Pong” and new tune “Volcano” have to get a mention here as well - the latter sure to be a future dance floor smasher.

They played for over an hour, left the stage to rapturous applause and then returned for another 30 mins of pure experimental, crazy live beats. Classic stuff - I still feel lucky to have seen the return of this amazing act. Welcome back APC.

I left the Melkweg Oude Zaal for the first time that night thinking how awesome a venue it is. A good crowd, decent security and one of the best sound systems I’ve ever heard. A great first night, no doubt.

That was until I went to see Autechre a few days later in the larger Melkweg venue next door, The Max. Oh my days! (as they say) - this place is absolutely brilliant, and knocks the smaller venue into the shade (if that’s even possible!). The quality of the sound in this room was jaw dropping - wherever you were in room it was crystal clear and stupid loud. Just the ticket for a night of sonic perfection and exquisitely produced electronic music.

Not much to say on this one really, if you know the acts on the lineup - Autechre, SND and Rob Hall - you know you’re in for a treat. All cutting edge pioneers in their own right and together, one of the best tour lineups ever assembled.

Rob Hall (Skam Records) was spinning between both the live acts, some great proper Techno (note correct spelling), Electronic and Acid styles which warmed the already-toasted crowd nicely. Was nice to hear a bit of 4/4 before and after having your head totally split in two by SND. These guys were uncompromising to say the least - fragmented, heavy glitch business the order of the day. An acquired taste for sure, but rewarding if you dig it. In parts it sounded like they were literally trying to break the sound system, such was the severity of the low end. Absolutely wicked, if you like that sort of thing

The music stops and every light in the whole venue goes out. The crowd goes apeshit. Time for Autechre then. No light show, no pretense. Just immaculately produced, hard-as-nails beats which could quite possibly be from 30 years in the future. These guys are at the top of their game and have got to be (in my opinion) one of the finest live acts in the world.

The whole experience of Autechre live from beginning to end is one of sheer beauty and unrelenting power, an absolute joy to behold. You know those screwfaces people make when the beats are just too sick? That was me for the whole show. I’m not going to attempt to put any of the tracks into words, it wouldn’t do any of it justice. Just take my word for it, if you like challenging, super epic electronic music and heavy-as-ras beats, you owe it yourself to see these guys one day. Total sickness and worth the trip alone.

An exhausting but amazing few days away!

Autechre’s new album ‘Quaristice’ is out this month on Warp Records.