The live drums shuddered, the bass and synths rumbled
through the speakers, and the strong female backing vocals oozed sensuality.
Yet it was Arthur Ashin’s vocals that were most
remarkable. Autre Ne Veut is the
brainchild of New Yorker Ashin and this gig saw him performing tracks from his latest album 'Anxiety' (pictured).
Raw and guttural, Ashin stumbled around the stage singing with
a rock star growl and husky falsetto, a pile of much needed empty water bottles
scattered at the front of the stage. His
passion and devotion to his music absolutely cannot be denied. His vocal had real power - both emotionally and in volume – that was
particularly apparent once the music dropped down a notch. The live rendition of World War, initially accompanied solely on piano, was certainly
more affecting than on the recording. More
so, Ashin was totally ‘in the zone’, subterraneously deep within the music, the
performance filled with dramatic pauses and stares into the audience as if
overcome. Passion often outweighed
technique, however. At times the
screeching was overdone, timing and tuning suffering as a result.
And then he turned to the audience: “You guys are seriously
self-serious”. Ironic though his statement may have been, it was clear throughout
the gig some audience members were unsure what to make of the singer. One person even offered a hushed “awkward”
during a particularly long pause. Yet when
Ashin takes himself so seriously, it’s difficult for this not to be reflected
by the audience. Tracks such as Counting might have big choruses and pop
hooks amongst the dark R&B production, but when the lyrics are consumed
with death (“I’m counting on the idea that you’ll stay alive”) it’s difficult
to feel anything but “self-serious”.
3/5
