Föllakzoid
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER –
Tonight, its back to the Soup Kitchen basement for another stunning line up from the joint minds of The Beauty Witch and Grey Lantern.
Opening we have Silver Vials, a trio from Manchester who use basic elements to create intense, drone laden space rock. ‘Vultures’ uses krautrock influences in its repetition and yet the electronic elements make it a foot tapper. ‘Blue Angel’ draws inspiration from early Pink Floyd, whilst channelling a sitar sound and lashings of fuzz. The absence of a bass guitar is hidden beneath layers of synth as the track builds in intensity and tempo to induce hypnotic vibes and a musical complexity some can only aim for.
They say repeatedly that they have been marred by technical issues tonight, and yet apart from a couple of instances where their timing was off due to being unable to hear themselves on stage, you wouldn’t have known and the apologies were needless as the crowd lap them up.
Chileans Föllakzoid have revolutionized the modern perception of krautrock, making a dent so large in the scene that the appetite for their sound is insatiable. They have carved a reputation as one of the must-see bands around within the psych rock field. They pedal some of the finest krautrock inspired riffs around creating lengthy trance inducing melodies which prove impossible not to become heavily involved in.
Their latest release, The London Sessions, saw the group joining forces with J Spaceman, AKA Jason Pierce of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3 fame. The record sees the rearrangement of material taken from III and then performed live in a London studio. The highly sought after release came out on Record Store Day 2017, 22nd April.
Proceedings commence with guitarist Domingo Garcia-Huidobro taking the stage, hood clad and strumming seemingly random notes whilst employing serpentine movements. He is joined by his fellow band mates and they move into ‘Electric’, taken from album III. The minimalist track has all the elements characteristic with the band: repeated drum patterns, sparse vocals and a probing bass line. The addition of an atonal, reverb and delay drenched guitar section is the stand out feature of this track and is delivered perfectly.
‘Earth’ has become one of their more widely recognised tracks with its waves of a hazy delayed guitar riff, motorik drumming from Diego Lorca Hurtado and throbbing bass line. The fuzzy vocals from Juan Pablo Rodriquez add the final element and the 11 minute plus number persists mercilessly, drawing the crowd further under the band’s spell.
It is always a happy occasion when Föllakzoid come to town and tonight has been no exception, the only issue being we all wanted more… But then maybe that is their intention, to never leave an audience truly sated.
Föllakzoid: Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter
Lover of all things psych and shoegaze and the mind behind Astral Elevator; constantly seeking new musical experiences in a world full of noise.
