Anybody basing their expectations on a live set by Manitoba on his
2001 album "Start Breaking My Heart" had better not be so hasty. The
press release billed him as "Manitoba (is) the premier purveyor of
downtempo, organic electro..."
Downtempo?? The live experience hammered the cool Cape Town autum
air and had me sweating in a warm glow from non-stop dancing.
After speaking to the charming young Canadian during the course of
the afternoon, I was surprised at his mentioning current listening
favourites as My Bloody Valentine, MF Doom & Timbaland. Having heard
his gentle electronica evocative of childhood, with titles like
"Children Play Well Together", "Lemon Yoghourt" and "People Eating
Fruit" I had come to expect an interesting beard-strokey head nodding
evening.
Not so!! Manitoba took up his place behind the decks & laptop round
about 1:15am, with a LARGE diamante' spangled name tag around his
neck which would have made Liberace proud. He took off his
sweatshirt to reveal matching armbands above both elbows and
proceeded to wash the audience with a sustained 7-minute Kevin
Shields style wall-of-sound drone. We were certainly all ears!
The music constantly mutated stylistically, maintaining deep bass
tones to keep the solar plexus happy. Of the more recognisable
tracks, I spotted Detroit Grand Pubah's 'Sandwiches' in the mix, as
well as a tongue-in-cheek rendering of Basement Jaxx's 'Where's Your
Head At' but basically it was all switched on Manitoba Live.
My lift left at 3am so I didn't see out the night - which by then had
taken a decidedly Garage-y route.
Thanks to the organisers for bringing someone of this calibre out to
humble South Africa - may there be more visitors to follow, please!
We are a very appreciative audience.
I
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