26 July 2007 (gig)
28 July 2007
The latest installment of Audi’s Remastered project rolled into town last night in the form of the premiere performance of Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto for Turntables at the Scala.
The Heritage Orchestra provided the accompaniment, but all eyes were on mix maestro DJ Yoda as he scratched and faded his way through the composition. While impressive in its innovation and execution, the performance seemed to end just as it was getting going which was a disappointment.
The evening’s entertainment didn’t end there though, and a splendidly moody, introspective set from percussion pair O Duo and glitch masters Plaid backed by THO had the hip hop heads nodding. In fact, many of the evening’s finer points brought to mind previously successful hip-hop and classical collaborations such as DJ Shadow’s UNKLE project and Portishead’s seminal 1994 debut LP, Dummy.
The night’s action was rounded off by a storming set from Yoda that saw him take a whistlestop tour through some of pop’s finer experiments with classical music, veering from The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony to Galvanise by The Chemical Brothers.
Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the body-popping, middle-aged suit who was busting some ill-advised moves on the dancefloor, but, fair play to the lad, he got everyone dancing.
In an age of conveyor-belt pop, last night’s experimentation provided welcome relief.
