Caspar

caspar

Outro

Caspa and Rusko

interviews, outro, december 2007, COMMENTS

Brought together by a love of music, Caspa and Rusko have been pioneering a new breed of dubstep the world over. Their jumped up, energetic, bass-filled beats have recently been filling the Fabric dancefloor and catching the attention of peers such as Scratch Perverts. Fabric has snapped them up to mix the latest FabricLive 37 CD; the first one dedicated to dubstep. The duo give NIGHT the lowdown on the CD and what it means for the genre.

The release of their greatest hits compilation this year was a fitting testament to Groove Armada’s own brand of understated brilliance. The Ten Year Plan is a collection teaming with credibility - great collaborations, some memorable hooks and lyrics, but still not a likely top ten contender among all their hits - save perhaps for the dreamy ‘At The River’ (and the frankly shit Fat Boy Slim remix of ‘I See You Baby’, the version that appeared on the Megane adverts and made you feel like you were being poked in the ear).

So it wasn’t clear why Live Nation, the promoters-cum-venue operators who sold their stake in Mean Fiddler Holdings to MAMA Group last month, were asking £20 for a ticket for the Apollo gig. But it was easy to see where the extra expense had gone: the set design was a phenomenon. No doubt benefitting from Tom and Andy’s experience producing the Lovebox Weekenders, the Armada boys really know how to put on a show: a grid of strobes, a pixel-mapped LED video wall, and a five way laser show ignited the proscenium of the Apollo, with outstanding moments during tracks ‘Let There Be Light’ and ‘Get Down’ - in which the fireworks were given full throttle by lighting tech Jonnie Gaskell. The visuals were also top notch: three simple screens by Ben Brett displaying high definition artistry. Integrated, coherent and artistic - nothing on stage appeared underdeveloped.

But the key to the success of GA’s live presence is the band. The musical presence is phenomenal. With the night kicking off in style by the extraordinary vocal talents of Beardyman (Beatboxer of the year 2006/07), Tom and Andy marched on stage, accompanied by Stush, Mutya and the gang, without a laptop or pre-recorded loop in sight. Instead, a 22 piece drum kit, full back line band, Tom’s synth workstation, signature trombone and a large Belearic looking percussion set completed an incredible array of stagecraft.

There were solos and adlibs; there were bizarre costume changes, extended improvisations and dark experimentation. And from the first chimes of opener ‘The Girls Say’ to the dying reverberations of ‘Superstylin’’, the energy in the crowd was never a click below electric. From the stage all the way to the bar, the venue was a single moshpit - dancing and clapping religiously to every beat. Superb.

From: December 2007 Issue

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