Capstone

Description

Live performance has always been the heart and soul of music. A shared experience both between the musicians on stage and the audience. This latest double CD release on the esteemed DiN label manifests this ideal with a recording from the evening of 25th April 2026 at the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool. This venue has hosted various combinations of DiN artists over the years, but there has been no more potent a display of live electronics than this concert. Opening the evening, Field Lines Cartographer envelops the audience in a warm bath of gentle analogue undulations that rise and fall. Melodic lines intertwine before a huge rising wave of textures overwhelms the hall with an incredible sonic crescendo. Next on stage is Sulk Rooms, who provides a performance that is the polar opposite of the opening set. Full of energy, excitement, and bravado, Thomas Ragsdale conjures up a series of interlocking rhythmic drum pulses and hypnotic sequencer lines overlaid with soaring guitar loops and keyboard riffs. Ian Boddy has been perfecting his modular synth-driven performances for many years, and his expertise at creating an unfolding sonic journey is on fine form this evening. His set ranges from abstract modulations through beautiful ambient soundscapes and pulsating sequencer sections that he builds brick by analogue brick. The closing set for this concert was something very special as all three musicians took to the stage for a three-way jam session. With a basic structure of each artist driving one of three sections, it encompassed all that had gone before in a breathtaking performance and reiterated the opening statement above that such an event is a communal experience between the performers and the audience.