Nicolas Jaar Live @ Fabric, London 30/03/2011
After Bonobo, Nicolas Jaar is the second DJ that impressed me with his incorporation of musical instrument into what one would expect to be mostly a computerised live gig. On stage, he stands behind his computer, while three other musicians play the drums, the guitar, and the saxophone.
Not only Nicolas Jaar attaches importance to traditionnal instruments and sounds, but he will surprise you further when he grabs the mic and starts crooning in Spanish, with that grave and smooth voice of his.
The band didn’t play many tunes from the newly released Space Is Only Noise album as they went for a more lively atmosphere, with jazzy remixes such as Yegelle Tezeta, the masterpiece of Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astake, of which the saxophone solo was brilliantly performed. The audience was also lucky to hear some of the older and critically acclaimed material, such as El Bandido.
That evening, the Room 1 of Fabric was packed with a crowd in trance, a crowd that danced to the electronic beats meeting the jazzy and funky rhythms. Nicolas Jaar managed to create the perfect combination between a concert and a nightclub; at only 21, he promises a great future for electronic music.
