Autechre + Zoviet France
Barbican

A PROJECTION of trees in a forest is the only thing emitting any light at the Barbican this evening.

The backdrop is for much anticipated support act Zoviet France, legends of the early industrial scene and peers to the likes of Cabaret Voltaire.

The duo Mark Warren and Ben Ponton, from Newcastle, are almost the perfect opening act given their impressive back catalogue of distorted sound experiments.

However, they go for a far gentler and ambient set than expected — perhaps not wanting to pummel the audience into submission before Autechre gets the chance to do so. But with only half an hour to play with, it feels that their time is up just as everyone is settling into it. Then again, that’s often the way when headline-calibre acts are supporting.

Performing in complete darkness, and with a strict no readmission policy, the harsh mechanical sounds of Autechre begin to resonate.

The initial impression is awe-inspiring. Their part-improvised live sets have become legendary, with many released from soundboard recordings, taking a free jazz approach to electronic music.

There’s a glitch here and a broken beat there, some evolving into an impressive wall of sound, others seemingly petering off into the electro ether. It’s dystopian rave for the post-techno clubber.

Autechre have always been at the cutting edge of electronic music and some might say the godfathers of so-called IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), a term which the duo Rob Brown and Sean Booth have themselves rightly dismissed as “silly.”

Undoubtedly an impressive feat of programming, tonight’s performance remains firmly in the avant-garde and those hoping for more energy will likely leave wanting.

A section of the audience do get to their feet for a standing ovation, but then one person’s idea of sound art is another’s migraine.