The Presets + Deluka @ The Rainbow, Birmingham – 2nd July 2008
When (in my personal opinion) one of Birmingham’s best unsigned bands, Deluka, took to the stage at The Rainbow, the venue was far more packed than I’d ever seen it before.
The band quietly took their places and then blasted into opener ‘Killer Connection,’ which excited me so much I accidentally exclaimed ‘Yeeees!” out loud rather than inside my head. Placing Deluka into a distinct genre is quite difficult. There is a distinct rocky edge to the electro beats and samples that feature heavily in their work and singer Ellie Innocenti has a deep throatiness to her voice which adds a harder feel. However, the steady beat with catchy keyboard and synth loops played from a computer during the set really makes moving to the music irresistible. Perhaps if you consider Kasabian’s self-titled indie/ dance crossover album, then imagine a less creepy sound and a female singer you could get a fair idea! Ellie’s voice is also quite similar to Emily Haines from the new wave act Metric. In fact Metric itself is a good point of reference to the music of the band itself.
The band play through their eight song set at what feels like a blistering pace. Fourth song, ‘The Slip’ picks up the previous walking pace tempo of the previous tracks and sets the music on a tempo that constantly increases with each song. The crowd appeared to be respectfully appreciating the music but appeared slightly overly conscious of how they looked. As I looked around the venue I could see that the majority of the crowd were moving at least a foot or hand with the beat or even a combination of bodyparts…but no one was willing to move into full dancefloor mode.
My personal highlight of the set was new song ‘Ike and Tina’ with the simple yet catchy hook; ‘When no one else can see ya, we fight like Ike and Tina, We fight like Ike.’ This, the fifth song in the set, was followed by possibly the band’s best known song, ‘Sleep is Impossible’ which has placed the band’s music in bedrooms everywhere after it was picked for the soundtrack of the latest Grand Theft Auto game.
Deluka Setlist
1.Killer Connection
2. Finito
3. Wipe Out
4. The Slip
5. Ike and Tina
6. Sleep is Impossible
7. Capital City
8. Flashbacks
Aussie act The Presets were a real draw for promoters the 444 Club. With electro music enjoying such a popular revival at the moment the venue was packed out. The band featured two men, one on drums (with a synth drumkit often used beneath it playing a separate beat.) The singer sometimes would concentrate purely on his vocals and then sometimes multitask by playing a synth and fiddling with an effects box onstage. He also had two microphones at his disposal. One had been sent through a vocoder effect so that when the singer used it he sounded utterly inhuman (a little bit like Mr Roboto!). Reverb, echo and various other effects were used in large quantities.
The crowd were going absolutely crazy before the first song had even finished which was great to see. It made me wish I had glo-sticks so I could feel really in place. The set was also very varied with the greatest contrast being between the first and second songs, the second having a bassier, heavier feel to it.
Contrast certainly seemed to be the greatest asset to the act. They often mixed softer sounds with harsh, gated drum backbeats and older synth sounds with new (not that many of the youthful crowd would have realised!). The singer was quite good with the crowd, directing most of the action onstage towards them when he wasn’t busy burying his head in the various digital contraptions he was responsible for. Because of this the night took on a club night feel rather than a gig, partly because of the pure electronica the band played and partly because it felt at times that the singer was absorbed in his kit like a DJ rather than a performer.
Review – Frankie Ward
Photos – Ursula Roxy Aitchison