Mysterious devices covered in blinking LEDs, motorways of black cables strewn across tables, projections of black holes dipped in reactive dye, pounding beats energizing a dense basement crowd, and guys that are definitely doing more than just checking their twitter feed on those top-end Macs: Welcome to the Tronic collective’s fifth birthday party.
Since 2006 the Tronic guys have been scouring the internet, gigs and bars of Glasgow to find the latest in electronic innovation. Seeking out artists with flair and originality, their mission is ensemble a like minded community of people devout to new and exciting electronic order, and to showcase this talent monthly. With events taking place in venues all over Glasgow, the Tronic crew return to the 13th note this time for their 5th birthday, bringing along the much talked about Capitals, and the insanely talented Megamegaman.
Having tracks with names like ‘Dead Or Alive’, ‘Tron’, and – my favourite – ‘Mario & Bullshit’, Megamegaman turns up the joy pad to rapid fire, puts on his fast shoes, jumps in his light cycle and runs us all over in a bleeping assault of ascending riffs, huge chord pads and abrasive 32-bit bass. Using a vast array of gadgets smothered all over the table in front of him, he creates a mix of retro and futuristic sounds that hark back to the golden days of Alex the Kid, but with on eye also on the future. Deep African kick drums collide perfectly with catchy mono melodies whilst modern stretchy synth lines run perfectly alongside 80s sci-fi samples. Combine this with the trance inducing visuals from Tronic and a super-hyper active stage presence, it’s like being inside an N64. On acid. With Rap. Too good.
Thanking the crowd for their huge support, and introducing the next act as “a real band”, Megamegaman leaves the stage and lets Capitals take up the mighty gauntlet he had just thrown down. Taking the stage with guitars, laptops and a one almighty Korg, Capitals seem up to the challenge. As they begin though, it is clear that there is no point in comparing the two acts because they are so different – a testament to Tronic’s varied line up over the years.
Capitals blend the indie roots of frontman Angus’ previous venture The Cinematics, with the production experience of producer Keir. With this combination, and an obvious love for the Glasgow folk scene, they produce song like productions and are like Frightened Rabbit jamming with Kernkraft 3000. With ambient introductions and massively catchy choruses, the band do have many good attributes, gaining them airplay on Radio 1 only after a handful of gigs. After the complex boundary pushing of Megamegaman however, tonight the backing tracks do feel a bit samey, with a constant pulsating eurobeat and samey bass riffs. Saying that, they don’t flop, chanting Arcade Fire-y choruses and ploppy guitar riffs to an interested crowd.
Tronic’s birthday bash is a testament to Glasgow’s innovative music scene and pioneering musicians, from the indie-folk-electro experiments of Capitals, to the rushing, brain melting excitement of Megamegaman. Roll on another 5 years.
Download a podcast of the show – more at www.tronicglasgow.com