| MOLOKO AT THE LIMELIGHT Who plays in the band: Roisin Murphy: vocals, lyrics Mark Brydon: guitars, keys, music Keys: Eddie Stevens Drums: Paul Slowly guests: Arik Marshall (guest lead guitar), Steve Edwards, Lisa Millet (backing vocals)and many more Drums: Paul Slowly style of music: lush disco songs Location: UK/Ireland Instruments: Fender guitars, moog, rhodes, hohner clavinet D6, Gibraltar Sonor (drums) Albums: Do you like my tight sweater? (1996) , I am not a doctor (1998), things to make and do (2000) , statues (2003) (singles: dominoid, fun for me, the flipside, sing it back, the time is now, pure pleasure seeker, indigo, Familiar feeling) tracks written by Mark Brydon and Roisin Murphy , produced by Mark Brydon. On echo records. website: www.moloko.co.uk Moloko, PO Box 21, London W14 0UZ Setlist: incl: Familiar Feeling, Statues, I want you, cannot contain this, forever more, 100%, pure pleasure seeker + over and over, sing it back (to be confirmed)  According to a newspaper called the Daily Mail, the biggest stage in the world is the Reno Hilton Theatre in Nevada which is about 2 acres big and can hold 800 spotlights. Well, the Limelight in Belfast Northern Ireland is much smaller but has made a name for itself as a venue for many names of independent music, there are countless of signed pictures and records on the wall as you get in. Thousands of anecdotes and who knows, we might have the one or the other in store for you.  But tonight, give a hand for Moloko . This came a bit like a surprise to me. Having recently relocated to Belfast ?this is the first review from Titanictown and before I continue, I would like to thank all those who made this possible. Thank you Katrin and thank you David. I read about Moloko playing the Limelight when doing a bit of research on their website because their album statues is favourite of 2003 so far and I thought it should deserve a thorough review. Moloko are of course familiar feeling in the current music scene. They have a universal appeal as some of their songs were played all over the place in Europe and elsewhere. They started as an electronic dance duo with Roisin Murphy, from Ireland and Mark Brydon from Manchester in the Sheffield music scene in 1996. They got their name from the film Clockwork Orange which conveys the message that people good or bad should be allowed to make their own decisions rather than being brainwashed into copycats. In Moloko’s case, originality suits them well and their style is instantly recognisable. On the album “Do you like my tight sweater??you hear Mark Brydon’s playful electronic experiments with nods to obscure French pop, sixties and are imaginary soundtracks for a trip round the disco, and that was completed by the wacky or surreal lyrics by Roisin Murphy ?what I liked about their style is the down to earth approach and the recurrent melancholy (Statues) - . Now, in 2003, Moloko have evolved into a keyboard/guitar/beat band and there were six members onstage, four are pictured on the album sleeve. The style fits very well into “soup?as in super! The album Statues is very lush and includes strings and passionate and if I wanted to put the lyrics into a nutshell I would quote the line “beauty in everyday things?from the song 100%. This is a familiar feeling and such an album could certainly not pass me by. I like the lyrics of "I want you" which borders on the stalking because I remember that on their first album they had a song "Killer bunnies" about carnivorous rodents and ending with the line "Fear me not, I mean no harm". Songs like that stick to my mind. I think that Roisin should have a listen to a song by The Sparks called "Don't me leave me alone with her".  The question is how such music would sound live. Obviously the reason why I tend to listen to contemporary music rather than stuff from years ago is the fact that I want to get the chance to see the performer live on stage and get an idea what kind of person writes the lyrics, composes the music and how songs are performed. In Moloko’s case, the Limelight felt right. The stage was too tight for a string section, but this is a band who is at home in clubs and they played the music that one would expect from a club looking like the “fabulous?Limelight. A music living in its own world and so down to earth that it hits a chord with the audience.  Because the album is so multilayered it is enjoyable in a room, a small club, a disco , you can dream with it, be melancholic, fool around dancing the disco or feel the passion of galloping horses. To me it works at all levels, it is original and 100% pure pleasure. Their website is Their website New EP is called "Forever More" - second single from the album with cool remixes. GLASTONBURY 2003 - I MISSED IT !!!! DARN!!! Glastonbury 2003 - well, at least radioevropa has seen a few of the artists who performed there so concert reviews will be repeats - just like afternoon TV schedule but if like me you still watch Columbo even if you have seen the episode 4 times, then this is for you. Who was there, whom we haven't met yet? There was David Gray, REM and the Counting Crows. I saw Supergrass in 1996 and their blend of tongue in cheek lyrics and 70ies melodies have found a few fans, everyone knows who REM are, David Gray is very famous in the UK for his ballads on the piano - I think. Those who who turned up were: The Flaming Lips  Supergrass, Jools Holland, Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, Moby, Macy Gray, Sugababes, Asian Dub Foundation, Waterboys, Leningrad Cowboys, Glastonbury Town Band, REM, David Gray, The Music, Mogwai, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Darkness, M 
Moloko All of them seemed to have had a good time basking in the sun for this summer in England, and indeed in the British Isles has been very sunny indeed, apart from the week in Wimbledon of course. I think I can paste some kind of review for the benefit of those who have never been to Glastonbury - yes, folks there is going to be a page, and yes indeed, this festival has been famous for centuries - the actual festival was founded in 1970 - but in the past, troubadours and minstrels sang their way around Avalon, so this is why modern Glasto is also a folk festival. Books about Merlin the enchanter and King Arthur and the round table were written by Thomas Malory and Chrestien de Troyes. I have the slight feeling that if I am not keeping this in check, I might end up writing a review that looks like Harry Potter or something, but that horse carver from Styria I met in March insisted that I should include all that in my review including a picture of Stonehenge - ach well, why not, and I promise, I shall also put a pic of Bryan Ferry just for the sake of it, because I am expected to mention him or put pictures of him especially if there is a mention of Avalon. To please a few Belfast people, yes, folks, I know that Van the Man from Castlereagh Street, who used to clean windows for Mrs Sommerville in East Belfast, Van Morrison, he sang a song called "Avalon of the Heart" in 1990 and talking about East Belfast, why not go the whole hog and mention Linda Martin of Eurovision Song Contest fame who came from our Belmont Road. Happy everyone? Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that Glastonbury is near Bristol near Wales... |