LUO + NIERRA CREEK + QUAKING ASPENS + LLSN – THE FOLKLORE ROOMS, BRIGHTON 22.6.24
Suicide is something that everybody has experienced at some point – whether there are people that are no longer in their lives, or friends who have known friends, or even contemplating it themselves. It’s something that affects everybody, and the Grassroots Suicide Prevention organisation have been providing support alongside a number of communities and partnerships in relieving the pressures of mental health. On Saturday night, they act as the cornerstone at The Folklore Rooms for a night of alternative folk and electronic music in a varied and colourful evening! From the IDM intricacies of Luo and the glitch pop heartache of Nierra Creek to the homely and ethereal Quaking Aspens and the rustic folk of LLSN, the night was a qualified success for all involved and a success towards raising awareness for Grassroots Suicide Prevention.
Opening the night at 8:30 on the dot was LLSN (short for Ell Ellson, which is also a pseudonym, leaving the man’s name a mystery…!). Adapting himself in the music scene for around four years, LLSN has been quietly gelling with the folk worlds of Brighton, Worthing and beyond, while still maintaining a unique and original identity. Some extra hype has been generated around him thanks to several performances around the unofficial Great Escape performances at The Mesmerist and St. Nicholas’ Church. As me and my partner take our places towards the front of the stage, LLSN remains seated, acoustic guitar in hand and pedals at his feet. He opens with the track ‘Call Me Cohen’, whose opening lyric “Call me Cohen and I’ll call you Suzanne” is a tremendous line to kick off a set with. The glitching visuals (courtesy of Josh Harrison aka Jsnazz) transmute LLSN’s name into VHS and warped nostalgia as he plays through rustic guitar chords that remind me of Bill Callahan’s Smog. The second track ‘Red Zeppelin’ makes use of a more fingerpicking-style guitar pattern while Ell explores the more airy qualities of his vocal performances, with some stellar key changes from section to section.
He takes a moment to say thanks for coming and raises awareness for Grassroots before entering the track ‘Bates Motel Unlimited’, a song that he states being about a hotel that you can never leave (step aside, ‘Hotel California’). The gorgeous and warm delivery of the track wins the crowd over, with slight David Gray vibes ringing through the vocal melodies and chord progressions. LLSN’s freeze pedal, which he uses frequently during the set, holds his guitar chords in stasis, creating wonderful drones that transitions into the following ‘Indigo’ perfectly. This track is by far the most bittersweet moment in the set, with a heartwarming momentum and divine soundscape. Ell has a distinct connection with Jacko Hooper, the curator of The Folklore Rooms, having engaged in a livestreaming writing challenge during lockdown, from which the penultimate ‘Cell Block Nine’ is born. The song’s descending chord pattern and long reverb carrying Ell’s voice is majestic, yet melancholic, while his passionate and hard acoustic guitar strums bring a lot of power and drive towards the back end of the track. He closes out with the song ‘Subterranean’, opening with a soft folk picking pattern that reminds me of ‘Helplessness Blues’-era Fleet Foxes. The track is warm and welcoming, but slightly unnerving, thanks to lyrics like ‘welcome back to your skin, it’s been a while…’! Overall, LLSN’s performance was a beautiful opening leg for the night; his sophisticated arrangement of acoustics and brutal songwriting made for some incredible introductory moments.
LLSN:
Ell Ellson – vocals, acoustic guitar
LLSN setlist:
‘Call Me Cohen’
‘Red Zeppelin’
‘Bates Motel Unlimited’
‘Indigo’
‘Cell Block Nine’
‘Subterranean’
The next band stepping up to the plate is Quaking Aspens, a band that are quickly becoming one of Brighton’s most-beloved, even with only two singles to their name as of yet, ‘Disappear’ and ‘What You Need’. Spearheaded by the team of frontmen Carla and Sam, Quaking Aspens has a sound that’s hard to define, infusing elements of indie rock, shoegaze, folk and dream pop that creates an ethereal soundscape of their own. They kick off their set with latest single ‘What You Need’, with the pair’s vocals nestled in walls of ambient guitars, a weighty bassline from Louis and tom-led drum grooves from another Louie. Already, this track symbolises the band’s soundplay beautifully and sets the tone for the remainder of their set. The following ‘Electric River’, their upcoming single, set for release in July, makes use of a more vibrant sound, with semi-call and response vocals from Carla and Sam while the two Louie(s) maintain a strong rhythmic propulsion. ‘Dragon’ is by far my favourite song of the set, with the lead duo engaging in open C guitar tunings that remind me of artists like Richard Dawson and Ben Howard in their wide sound and open atmosphere. This track has such a beautiful and haunting aura, smothered in reverb and ambience. It’s also a great moment for Carla and Sam to display their marvellous chemistry, both in their guitar arrangements and their vocal performances.
‘Immersion Blended’ opens with a steady motif from Sam on guitar with the rest of the band accenting hits of reverb collectively. I love the tom patterns that Louie makes use of in his drum grooves, something that comes into perfect fruition on this track, as does Carla’s guitar playing, which enters a wonderful distorted solo that feels transcendent in its soundscape. Following a loose and freeform closing leg to the song, the band head into the track ‘Black Marrow’, complete with a swaying ambient rock groove and overlapping vocals between Carla and Sam towards the song’s final moments. The last song of the set, ‘Passages’ is a beautiful ode to go out on, remaining warm and honest as per the entire performance, with a more dynamically exciting execution and Carla’s vocals on top form, as well as reminding me a touch of Phoebe Bridgers. Already, with half of the night gone, the showcase of alternative folk from LLSN and now Quaking Aspens has put the performance in full force, and with just two more acts to go, things are about to get more exciting…!
Quaking Aspens:
Carla – vocals, electric guitar
Sam – vocals, electric guitar
Louis – bass
Louie – drums
Quaking Aspens setlist:
‘What You Need’
‘Electric River’
‘Dragon’
‘Immersion Blended’
‘Black Marrow’
‘Passages’
Next up, is a band that incredibly intrigues me: Nierra Creek. I’ve heard the name incredibly frequently in the past few weeks, despite their being in circulation for less than a couple months…! The name itself seems like a frequency illusion to me that just adds to the duo’s mystique. Yet, Ryan Deag and Sebastian Müller have both been creating music in different forms and shapes for many years, with the latter being a notable proprietor of the more experimental and ambient-based sides to Brighton’s music scene. Already, I was excited at the sight of many keyboards, drum pads and analog synthesizers set up around the unassuming duo. They open with the track ‘Born A Child’, which introduces itself with some vocoded vocal samples that remind me of Bon Iver’s ‘22, A Million’ record. Like Justin Vernon’s project, Ryan morphs his voice with vocoded effects, creating a distinctive sound that is both alien and mystifying. The anxious yet staggering performances give way to breakbeat drum machine rhythms that lead the song into climax perfectly! Already, these guys have won me over, just with the opening track, with Jacko leaning towards me excitedly, confessing his love for Nierra Creek. ‘Burn Out The Fire’, with its soft pianos and glitching drum machine beats, reminds me of a cross between Tapir! and James Blake. It’s fair to say that the duo have a somewhat unassuming stage presence considering the power of the music itself; they both play to their musical and performing strengths expertly.
The 8-bit rhythms of ‘Move Together Now’ are cute and sweet before Sebastian’s grating guitar adds an incredibly twisted groove to the soundscape. This track is almost Springsteen-like in its euphoria and progression underneath the duo’s amazing chemistry of synthplay and pop melodies. We come to what Ryan designates “the sad song”, ‘Lately’, opening with some bowed guitars forming a drone before some soft muffled organ chords find home in the song’s musical skeleton. The track doesn’t feel sad so much as despondent, creating a weightless feeling in the middle of the set that brings us back down to earth on the following cut, and the duo’s only released single to date, ‘Conversations With Friends’. This track remains somewhat skeletal compared to the rest of the set, but its strong 90s flair and hip hop downtempo rhythms pull the song through fantastically. Somehow, I reckon these guys and Enjoyable Listens would get on very well…! We approach the final moments of the set, starting with ‘I Try’ and its glistening walls of synth drones and muzak drum machines, which mutate into pounding 808s for Ryan to deliver his melodic sermon atop of; bringing out emotion in the most synthetic manner is what these guys do best! Finally, ‘People’ engages in more hyperactive beats and bubbling synth bass with polyrhythmic synth lines hiding in the mix. As Ryan struts in front of the stage, he and Sebastian power towards the end expertly, leaving me on the biggest high and patiently awaiting the final act of the night…!
Nierra Creek:
Ryan Deag – vocals, synths, guitar
Sebastian Müller – vocals, synths, drum pads, guitar
Nierra Creek setlist:
‘Born A Child’
‘Burn Out The Fire’
‘Move Together Now’
‘Lately’
‘Conversations With Friends’
‘I Try’
‘People’
Closing out the night is Luo, an experimental project masterminded by Josh Trinnaman, blending elements of progressive music, post-rock and video game soundtracks with a distinctive IDM sound. Joined by drummer James Glazier, the duo begin with a set of songs that Josh has composed under his own name, starting with the song ‘Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself’. Already, the IDM sound is prominent, with glitching synths and erratic sample interpolations. Both Josh and James are set up against each other, reminding me of the pairing of John Stanier and Ian Williams from experimental rock band Battles. ‘Hinsoid’ gives me slight Boards of Canada/Aphex Twin vibes with the more nostalgic tinges in the synth arrangements. However, James’ drumming? My god, what a performer; the man can keep his groove so effortlessly, it’s unreal! Some jittering and filtered rhythms open the track ‘Heart Sonars’, which also features some grating synth samples that give the song a harsh flavour, as well as a cool tempo shift towards the second half! The duo are boundless in terms of sound scope, with this song melding city pop synths and driving dubstep bass with jazz fusion drum rhythms.
Josh introduces ‘Nothing To Say’ as their drum and bass track, while still executing an incredible display of glitching samples. The first of two unreleased and untitled tracks from Josh and James sees the former on electric guitar, engaging in a groove that reminds me of Thundercat’s ‘Them Changes’, while the second track, on acoustic guitar, makes use of steady dynamic changes and textured arrangements. Now, for reasons completely unbeknownst to me, Luo performs a slew of songs from the ‘Final Fantasy VII’ video game, for the remainder of the set. As Josh turns on the glowing Cactuar stand on his instrument set-up, he and James turn the energy up on Nobuo Uematsu’s original score, giving the track ‘In Search Of The Man In Black’ some extra punch and drive. ‘Reunion’s phasing synth strings and 6/4 drum groove are fun to engage with, as well as the eerie synth lead that Josh uses at multiple points in the set. As the visuals begin to glitch and disorient the crowd, the moodier ‘Red XIII’s Theme’ explores soft samples of plucked guitar and low-bit drums which open up into breakbeat rhythms and scattering synth tones.
‘Lurking In The Darkness’ is a somewhat slower cut compared to the rest of the set, with a jazz fusion direction that could be mistaken for something out of the Mahavishnu Orchestra playbook. Operating within a similar flair, ‘Cinco De Chocobo’, regarded as simply Dave Brubeck’s ‘Take Five’ but FFVII style by Josh, plays around with quintuple meter rhythms and a more light-hearted soundplay that makes for a refreshing breather towards the end of the set. The closing ‘Under The Rotting Pizza’ contains some synth lines and grooves that go extremely hard, as well as some Mellotron-esque passages that give the performance some air. Just before the duo begin to pack down, they answer the audience’s calls for one more song, treating them to another FFVII track, translated as ‘Crazy Motorcycle Chase’, which completely disregards any lack of momentum and engages in hyperactive grooves and deliriously disjointed and hard-hitting instrumentals! Luo thanks us for their time as the speakers begin to play the ‘Thomas The Tank Engine’ theme tune (just because?), and myself and my partner make our way out of The Folklore Rooms. This was a successful evening of folk and electronica beyond belief, with each act turning up the excitement and fulfilment one-by-one until complete elation was delivered at 11:45pm. Big props to Jacko and the Folklore team for organising the show and for an exceptional £410 for such a worthwhile cause as Grassroots Suicide Prevention.
Luo:
Josh Trinnaman – synths, electronics, samples, guitars
James Glazier – drums
Luo setlist:
Josh Trinnaman’s songs:
‘Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself’
‘Hinsoid’
‘Heart Sonars’
‘Nothing to Say’
‘Untitled #1’
‘Untitled #2’
Final Fantasy VII songs:
‘In Search Of The Man In Black’
‘Reunion’
‘Red XIII’s Theme’
‘Lurking In The Darkness’
‘Cinco De Chocobo’
‘Under The Rotting Pizza’
(encore)
‘Crazy Motorcycle Chase’
