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The Necks

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Sat 17 May 2008 // 19:30

with Tom Bugs vs Roger Skerman

(Sat 17th May 2008 / 7.30pm / £10 adv)

Jazz but not Jazz. Modular but amazing, lush and long.

Known as one of the great cult bands of Australia, The Necks' Chris Abrahams (piano), Tony Buck (drums) and Lloyd Swanton (bass) conjure a chemistry together that defies description in orthodox terms. They extend ideas, forms and melodies from potentially minimalist pieces to new and unexpected places. 13 albums into a unique career they remain a unique outfit. Since those first meetings as a group in 1987 they haven't seen it fit to rehearse, and their completely improvised live performances have gained cult status across the globe. Tonight they meet again on the Cube stage.

Not entirely avant-garde, nor minimalist, nor ambient, nor jazz, the music of The Necks is regularly described by reviewers as, simply, unique. Over their twenty years together they have honed an assured process of building around repeated motifs through subtle shifts and layering, to produce an
extraordinarily dense and hypnotic effect frequently underpinned by an insistent deep groove. They create a music that breathes, pulses and rocks the room. As their dedicated followers know, their gigs are entirely improvised and are an experience that has to be heard to be believed.

Support is a dream (and first time) Bristol pairing of Tom 'Modular homemade synth boxes' Bugs versus Roger 'scatterful free style drum veteran' Skerman. Both play serious but with a sense of the joy of music making, listening, responding to whatever spirit takes their muse. Electronix, drum skins and rhythmic organics in splendid musical movements.