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Plot Summary
As an artist, it's always good to challenge yourself. . . and the thought of translating all the complex layers in a Shpongle album into a live show with a band gave me a panic attack. . . and still does! Some songs we couldn't even find, as they were done on old computers that have long been obsolete, soaking up water under a leaky roof in my garage. Pretty early on I realized the secret would be to bring in musicians far better than ourselves. . . and lots of them! Two weeks before the show the band had never even met each other, even though I had recorded some of them individually in my studio for previous Shpongle albums. Pixel Addicts took care of the lights, showing me complicated diagrams on their laptops which I pretended to understand, having no clue how it would actually look on the night. Meanwhile we all rehearsed in a darkened room, with no air or daylight, getting to know each other by smell alone. . . and perhaps sound. Reams of manuscript paper littered the floor, everyone wore ear plugs, and all I could think was "What the hell am I doing?" . We didn't know if we would ever repeat the performance, so recorded it for posterity. . . Surely only an idiot would actually release their first ever gig though, right? We hope you like it. . . it was made with love, sweat and laughter. . . . Welcome to Shpongleland!
Customer Reviews
What a Wonderful Surprise
This is a shockingly excellent concert film. On disc, Shpongle often greatly exceed anything you could reasonably expect from an artist that gets a one paragraph biography in the All Music Guide. But on this video they are playing far above their league, and pulling it off to amazing effect.
Driven very hard by the live rhythm section, this warping of ambient, electronica and psychedelica works to far greater effect than even the best of Amorphous Androgynous' work (and considering how much I love Future Sound of London in any of their guises, that is high praise).
The visuals keep things very interesting. Well shot and well edited.
It is really hard to believe this was the band's first live outing. Check it out, it's worth the price of admission.
