Saturday 29 September 2018, 7.30pm
Consumer Electronics return to the UK for a rare visit and welcome return to Cafe Oto.
The extra PA has been hired and earplugs ordered in.
The classic three-piece lineup of Russell Haswell, Philip Best and Sarah Froelich will be blasting their coruscating mix of piledriving beats, performance poetry and confrontational electronic music. Including live debuts for tracks from the new CE state-of-the-nation album ‘Airless Space’ (Harbinger Sound).
Quietus said: this is no easy ride, but if you follow Consumer Electronics as they strip bare the caustic facade of modern living, you will find power and, yes, beauty in the dark recesses they reveal.
Louder Than War said: a glorious collision of punk, electro and techno noise ... the chaotic soundtrack to a country that feels equally as spinning and weird
If anybody has been paying attention (and in our opinion they bloody well should…), they might be aware that Gary Mundy of Ramleh and Breathless solo guise as Kleistwahr started in the early 1980s as a more directly noise/post-industrial-inspired project that saw a few limited edition cassette releases appear on his much vaunted Broken Flag imprint. While these cassettes have now been reissued on both vinyl and CD, Kleistwahr has long been committed to Gary’s utilising ideas that began with the exploration of cut-ups, grizzled electronics, guitar savagery and so on to the furthest reaches of a ravaged psyche rendered in sonic form. Often connected to the early work through the use of uncompromising blistered and blistering white hot textures, Kleistwahr these days also deploys everything from groaning church organs, Gary’s distinctive vocals, occasional rhythms and swells of distortion to equally trademark guitars which seem as though they’ve been sucked through the outer rings of Saturn. Besides being wholly possessed of its own sound, however, Kleistwahr is distinguishable for its always moving forward and developing ideas with its commitment to doing an album every year until Gary feels he’s no longer capable of producing one.
Live performances as Kleistwahr are always a solo affair with sets often only spanning between 20 and 30 minutes. Intense and alchemical, it is difficult to not remain transfixed throughout. Gary’s appearance here will start the evening off and be no exception.
