SNOWSKULL x GROOVE THEORY PRESENT: DANIEL AVERY
10 ft Tall, Cardiff | 23 January
The release of Daniel Avery’s Drone Logic at the tail-end of last year was greeted with unanimous critical acclaim – and rightly so. His thoughtful, ambient, but tight as hell techno marks him out as a shining new star of the dance music leftfield. And his Cardiff show proved that he can whip up a dancefloor while still maintaining a continuous, unbroken line back to his shoegaze and psychedelic influences.
Avery was brought to Cardiff by visual artist Snowskull (aka Matthew Evans). The occasion was the launch of Snowskull’s website to showcase his own striking paintings and an accompanying EP featuring some of the city’s best electronic producers, and the night kicked off with the criminally underrated Jauge (an artist on the EP). Jauge’s set of nostalgic, glitchy, garage-influenced love letters was the perfect way to set the tone for Avery, who has the sort of melodic dynamism and rhythmic dexterity on the decks that only a handful of master-craftsmen like Michael Mayer can lay claim to. Sprinkling hands-in-the-air moments from his own album over a foundation of layered, looping, luxurious electronic compositions, Avery’s set was one to watch and savour as much as leap around to. Catching him at such an exciting time on his upwards trajectory in a venue with only 200 people was a treat: his chiming, pulsating, acid-flecked material is only going to propel him further skywards as word gets around.
– – – – – – – – – –
Words: Adam Corner
CONNECT TO CRACK
