In recent years Lado w Mieście succeeded in becoming one of the best music initiatives in Warsaw next to the Festiwal Przemiany. It is hard to believe that those events give you the chance to see highly intriguing artists for free. I failed to visit Plac Zabaw(the spot near Vistula river where performances take place) last year and missed some great shows but this year I was way better prepared and reserved some time to do it. The atmosphere there is really appealing and you can feel the kind of liveliness as people come to have a drink and talk with friends. However, it doesn't distract you from listening, the audience is thoughtful and I did not have any problems with concentrating on the gigs.
| Plac Zabaw - the location of the events(fot. Pitu Pitu) |
Steven Warwick Live
20.07.2017
I got to know Steven Warwick by listening to CTFO on soundcloud. It legitimately drew my attention but then while checking other stuff I somehow forgot about his upcoming album(which is actually catalogued as a mixtape). When I discovered that he was going to play in Warsaw I was sure I will be there. It was high time I checked Nadir and so did I. The divergency of sounds prepared by Steven was much more surprising than I expected. You have spoken word melting with ambient collages, some legit outsider house moments but also a few really banging tracks with offbeat vocals.
Steven Warwick is a real presence on the stage and in front of it. During his show he approached the public countless times; he was spinning around, dancing, singing and in a result created a nice atmosphere which enhanced his gig. He wasn't afraid of showing emotions nor presented any calculated moves and you could feel that he was actually very much into the moment. He also didn't hesitate to show his music fascinations and though I have to admit he had some problems with mixing tracks as you could spot his indecisiveness and rare sloppiness, he was able to intrigue me. I specifically appreciate the moment he tried to mix some piano loops with interesting percussions. The thing I didn't in fact expect was the amount of danceable tracks. His performance was my kind of a dancing-weird-houselike show I want to move to. Intriguing enough to make you curious and committed to the listening process but at the same time providing you with enough energy to make you dance. I left the place extremely satisfied after applauding Steven for over a minute - well, he deserved it.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Live
24.08.2017
Her last album did not exactly blow my away; to be honest first I couldn't find a suitable moment to listen to it properly, then when I was aware that it would require some effort from me I wasn't able to create proper conditions. What I have to admit is that it was fascinating as far as sound design is concerned. I didn't hesitate for a second when I saw that Kaitlyn is going to perform at Plac Zabaw. I was curious to observe her way of using a modular synth and modulated voice.
As I expected Kaitlyn showcased a compelling range of sound structures which perfectly matched her multiplied and reverbed vocals. While listening to it, I felt like it bore a resemblence to Antonioni's movies; Kaitlyn was focused on creating certain feeling and atmosphere but rather refused to reach any climax point. The problem I had with this performance was some lack of continuity however in the second part of it the transitions were much better and fluid. The effort presented by Kaitlyn was impressive. I may only imagine how difficult it is to modulate the sound, sing and play chords almost at the same time. On the other hand, many times she made use of simple solutions and progressions. As for singing, I have to admit that the usage of this tool was well planned; not too much of it and not too little. Summing up the audio part of this show, it was coherent but from time to time boring as you were left with a certain feeling for too long; personally speaking I wish Kaitlyn had somehow used the atmosphere she created to introduce something else. Nevertheless, a great performance and absolutely impressive effort.
Worth noting is the visual part of the show. Some kind of colourful water drops synchronised with music were displayed on the screen next to Kaitlyn and it really corresponded well. I don't know who was responsible for this but kudos to him or her!
Short clip I found on Youtube giving you an idea of Kaitlyn's performance.
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