Amon Tobin, The Roundhouse, London 17/06/11

For an artist as elusive and unshowy as Amon Tobin, tonight represents something of a sea change. Ego doesn’t seem to have permeated the Brazil-born producer’s psyche, at least not in a way that’s discernable in his work. And yet here we stand, mouths agape in the towering environs of the Roundhouse, wondering when he decided to turn into Roger Waters.

The stage set-up is hard to explain fully without descending into impenetrable geekery. Suffice it to say, then, that it’s a fuck-off massive, higgledy-piggledy pile of white blocks onto which is projected, throughout the night, some of the most astonishing, giddy-making and straight-up jaw/sticky floor-interfacing visuals we’ve seen in 20 years of shitty venues and warm lager. (No such issues tonight. Anecdotal evidence gathered in the gents suggests most people are drinking water and being 29% over-friendly – can’t imagine why.)

And there, suspended in a box in the middle of experimental electronica’s very own Fortress of Solitude, is Amon, Ninja Tune’s David Blaine, occasionally visible via backlighting, prodding away at what could for all we know be Spotify, or an Xbox. But he’s definitely present, and for us, that’s 14 years of waiting finally satisfied.

The whole stage is literally throbbing to the gleefully disorienting beat, each deliciously distorted thrum coursing through the room like we’re trapped in a Transformers’ orgy, the blocks vibrating and seemingly in a permanent state of near-collapse. From our vantage point, the front 10 rows are bobbing and swaying. Surely people aren’t dancing to this? And yet. And yet.

As the visuals switch to a dystopian Blade Runner-esque tableau, The Roundhouse comes into its own as one of the few venues in the country capable of hosting what, it’s becoming increasingly clear, is a uniquely brain-blitzed Steampunk’n’bass son et lumière spectacular. Tonight encapsulates a romanticised ideal, using noises old – field recordings, aurally distressed voices, clanking machinery – to create textures new.

The bass is playing Etch-a-Sketch with our internal organs – seriously, it could be used to deliver babies – the blocks tumble in on themselves, then explode towards us, and all memories of gigs past evaporate. Suddenly, seeing four people in jeans simply playing instruments on a stage doesn’t feel sufficient.

Song titles? Ah, there’s a setlist at the foot of this page if you’re interested. It’s worth mentioning 90% of the set is lifted from Amon’s newest, teasingly amorphous album ISAM, plus his insane, disorientating remix of Noisia’s ‘Machine Gun’ – it feels like insects colonising the inner ear – and a couple of DJed favourites like ‘4 Ton Mantis’ towards the end. But tonight’s not about track-spotting, it’s about completely rethinking how live music can be presented now its recorded equivalent is as readily available as tap water.

The 3D Rubick’s Cube before us is uniquely stunning. The blocks dissolve then liquefy, the fairground organ grinds, flames burn blue, then bright orange, then fade to black. Then come the cheers, wave upon wave of delighted whoops, all present shaking their heads free to confirm that, yes, they are really here and they did really see this. As green sunspots pulsate in perfect time to the skittering beat, mesmerising and a little nauseating too, our master of ceremonies leaves his box to an ovation that would be standing were we not already on our feet.

It’s little wonder Amon Tobin’ name is intoned in hushed awe across town as “the godfather of dubstep”. Whether or not that was his intention, the spacious, immersive aural universe he’s been creating, re-inventing and bending into new shapes for the last decade and a half undoubtedly paved the way for that genre’s pounding alienation and cavernous, teetering pauses. But never mind the legacy, this, this is how to put on a show. Mind-melting.

Setlist

Journeyman (extended live version)
Piece of Paper
Bedtime Stories (extended live version)
Wooden Toy (extended live version)
Lost & Found
Slowly (2011 live version)
Noisia – Machine Gun (Amon Tobin remix)
Goto 10
Surge (Two Fingers remix)
Kitty Cat (extended live version)
Dropped From The Sky (extended live version)

DJ set
Amon Tobin – 4 Ton Mantis
Broken Note – Meltdown
Two Fingers – Fool’s Rhythm
Foreign Beggars – Contact (Noisia remix)
Two Fingers – Sweden
The Cardiacs – Sarah On A Worm

Encore
Night Swim
Horsefish (extended live version)

Photos by Katie Anderson