Mordant Mass, The Vortex | reviews, news & interviews
Mordant Mass, The Vortex
Mordant Mass, The Vortex
Deep bass, surging electricity and broken crooning at the jazz club
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Nick Edwards aka Ekoplekz, creating abstract dub from the sound of surging electricityJonny Mugwump
Avant-garde art, by its very nature, always treads a fine line between the sublime and the ridiculous, and between entertainment and alienation. Thankfully this is something understood very well by the joint curators of Friday night's show at the Vortex Jazz Club: Baron Mordant of the Mordant Music record label and Jonny Mugwump of the Exotic Pylon website and radio show. As the names perhaps suggest, these are people versed in the potential deep silliness of what they do, even as they take it very seriously indeed – and their event certainly ranged far and wide between the weird, the wonderful and the out-and-out wrong.
Avant-garde art, by its very nature, always treads a fine line between the sublime and the ridiculous, and between entertainment and alienation. Thankfully this is something understood very well by the joint curators of Friday night's show at the Vortex Jazz Club: Baron Mordant of the Mordant Music record label and Jonny Mugwump of the Exotic Pylon website and radio show. As the names perhaps suggest, these are people versed in the potential deep silliness of what they do, even as they take it very seriously indeed – and their event certainly ranged far and wide between the weird, the wonderful and the out-and-out wrong.
Skeletal structures of rattling percussion sounds, disembodied vocal melodies and huge bass notes that seem to rise up from the heart of the earth
Share this article
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more New music
EFG London Jazz Festival round-up review - youth, age, and the greatness in between
From Xhosa Cole Monking Around to 87-year-old Kirk Lightsey
EFG London Jazz Festival 2024 round-up review - from Korean noise to Carnatic soul
A trio of bands and artists blend world music, cinematic grooves and pure noise at the London Jazz Festival
Album: Alice Ivy - Do What Makes You Happy
Aussie producer's third is half gems and half pap
Music Reissues Weekly: Stefan Gnyś - Horizoning
Folk-inclined Canadian’s brooding album emerges 55 years after it was recorded
Album: Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More
Gems in the rough on the Pixie / Breeder's long-awaited solo debut
Hannah Scott, Worthing Pavilion Theatre Atrium review - filling an arctic venue with human warmth
Singer-songwriter brings moving, autobiographical songs to the freezing south coast
Album: Joan Armatrading - How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean
Held in love and affection
Album: FaithNYC - Love is a Wish Away
Wonderfully produced off-piste music
English Teacher, Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow review - Mercury winners step up in size with style
The Leeds quartet's set was varied in genre but thrilling when punchy
Album: Father John Misty - Mahashmashana
The flawless union of style and substance
Kenny Barron Trio, Ronnie Scott's review - a master of the cool
Eloquent story-telling from jazz giant
Album: Body Count - Merciless
Ice goes on autopilot
Add comment