31 October 2011 (gig)
31 October 2011
Leeds based dub/soul ensemble, Submotion Orchestra finished up a UK tour with a Halloween show at Shoreditch’s XOYO giving a mesmerising performance befitting the level of praise the band has received since the release of its eponymously titled debut album in June of this year.
The intricately crafted sound of the band is coupled with powerfully dynamic live performances that have established Submotion Orchestra as a unit that demands the full attention of an audience from start to finish, luring listeners deep into an immersive and expansive world. The performance at XOYO was no different and was nothing less than utterly encapsulating.
Submotion Orchestras’ powerfully evocative, electronically infused array of complex soundscapes mixes a harmoniously divine sound with intensely guttural and earthly rumblings that provide a vehicular mechanism for the band's evolutionary approach to the dub step sound. The layered nature of their music is entrancing and the persistence of the sub level bass provides at once a hypnotic and jarring force that makes every muscle in the body spasm into some disjointed yet empathic groove with the music.
The nature of the band’s inception - born out of the commissioning of a dub-step piece by the arts council for a performance in Yorkminster Cathedral - meant that the cross-arts environment of XOYO was a likely setting for the ensemble’s inspired take on the dubstep sound. In addition, the basement room of the venue offered fantastic acoustics that allowed the lowest frequencies to pack into every inch of space available, creating a dense and all encompassing atmosphere.
The musicianship of the ensemble and the intensity of their live performance provided a unique and impenetrable space that cocooned the gentle and sometimes fragile vocals of Ruby Wood who gave a deeply emotive and infectious performance. Working the crowd from start to finish, Wood with a beguiling charm remained both warm and welcoming while maintaining enough artistic distance from the audience to sustain the front-person aura of sorts that was necessary to bolster the trancelike atmosphere resultant of the music within the room.
Ultimately, with only the one album complete and released to date, and a collective musical CV as long as your arm, it is almost certain that Submotion Orchestra's fan-base will grow exponentially in coming years, and having given performances as accomplished as the Halloween show at XOYO there is something about this group of musicians to feel genuinely excited about.
In support was East London’s Planas, the brainchild of Toby Davies, with an electronic dub sound that was swarming from start to finish with swelling textures and unique timbral qualities that enforced a profound impact upon the audience and a rhythmic quality that implored relentless movement. Planas is definitely worth looking out for around the capital in coming months as they could have sent the majority of this audience home happy on their set alone.
Russell Cook
