Moderat – Koko, London 11/02/14

The last time I saw Moderat was in 2011 at the later-to-be-ill-fated Bloc Weekend. That night, the act announced from centre stage that it was to be their final gig, never to play again. Cries of disbelief from the crowd echoed round Butlins, Minehead. A Ziggy Stardust moment for the electronic generation.

Thankfully, after a seemingly eternal hiatus, the pioneering three piece (one part Apparat, two parts Modeselektor – shaken not stirred) released a phenomenal second album last year and finally this week came back from Berlin to grace Great Britain with a smattering of gigs across the country. Would their turn at Koko be a show worth waiting for?

Happily the answer was a definite ‘yes’. Despite being scheduled on a Tuesday (a weekend would have been infinitely more preferable, as after four years since a London date you can imagine that fans were gagging to have a proper knees up) and despite their playing at Koko rather than a real club environment, good music, good musicians and good fans will out.

“A New Error”, a firm first album favourite, pounded through the epidermis straight to the veins, mainlining to the heart as the bass shook the crowd who were writhing, snogging, sweating as one.

Incredibly reassuring was the welcome sight of the synchronicity of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary (Modeselektor) and Sascha Ring (Apparat) who after all these years working on their own artistic endeavors, were harmonically entwined with one another, standing behind their tech-laden podiums like a hyperactive Kraftwerk. Hope for the future, Moderat lives on.

The ever endearing Sascha Ring greeted his devotees “Good evening, we’re pretty pleased to be here finally, a little bit late but we made it” – a very humble nod to his recent brush with death, coming off a motorbike back in October, which lead to this tour being postponed.

Somewhat unexpected was just how big a reaction the new album tracks had from the crowd, with howls, cheers and general bat-shittery reigning over “Milk” and “Bad Kingdom”. It could be that the whole of Koko loves Sascha Ring’s vocals as much as I do, or it could be a clear sign that this new album has really put Moderat on the map.

On reflection, I think it’s fair to call these guys a band; their incarnation as a supergroup of supergeil superstars and ultimately the nature of the evening time gig, which had an encore of “Gita”, “Let in the Light” and early BPitch Control classic “Nr.22” cemented it; there’s aren’t many electronic acts who take an encore. That’s reserved for the special ones. And special they most certainly are.

• Photo by Howard Melnyczuk. See the full gallery here.