Eu / Snatch

Newcastle, Head Of Steam

There's a time and a place for progressive electronics.

A heaving, smoke-infested Head Of Steam on a misty mid-week night may not exactly summon immediate thoughts of some Kubrick-esque technological advancements. Tonight however, Newcastle's most dedicated pub venue witnesses visions spanning the past, present and future; in the surreal shapes spun by Tyneside's Snatch and St. Petersburg's EU. Snatch is the startling alter-ego of Caroline Churchill, a one-woman slap in the face for the chin-stroking laptop massive. Surrounded by an arsenal of machinery blasting stark electro solar-funk, Snatch rasps, yelps and raps at her microphone like a young Shirley Manson, minus that easy angst, but plus a sweet innocence that snowstorms into a sudden ambush. Brace yourself: it's heading your way too.
EU on the other-hand, shy away from performance to concentrate firmly on their art. And it's such a fine experience to behold. Two unassuming men from Russia are Eastern Europe's premier dealers in space-age synth stylings. Locked behind a VDU seemingly beamed back by Dr Who and a decedent Roland keyboard, EU resemble two junior science-lab assistants, albeit ones capable of brewing a rather superior electronic potion. It's an infusion where abstract beats laced with tiny hip-hop edges blend into a gymnastic sci-fi odyssey that Rick Wakeman would wet himself over, where an early Aphex Twin trades understated advances in the direction of Autechre. In such company, there's always a right time and place for progressive electronics. Especially if it's designed with such refined analogue mis-precision.

Ian Fletcher

www.the-fly.co.uk may 2003