Originally published @ Venue magazine (and online).
Zun Zun Egui are an exciting enough live prospect, but Huw Oliver’s equally intrigued by the re-emergence of the man with the colourful first name.
A reclusive pop legend making only his third showing since 2006 certainly constitutes a ‘big gig’. Green Gartside has unveiled a revamped Scritti Politti in every decade since their 1976 inception, but in super-sharp contrast to the Duran Durans and Erasures of this world, he always pops up ready with fresh ideas. Anxiety problems and a heart attack after a gig with Gang of Four resulted in stage fright for Gartside – until 2006 he hadn’t performed live for over 20 years – but now you can catch him in a rare live performance supporting Bristol psych-rockers Zun Zun Egui. What to expect? Other than the fact he has a new band in tow, we haven’t the foggiest.
Scritti’s first shock transformation came after a visit to NY in 1984: from DIY squat-hatched post-punk to glossy chart-bothering synth-pop. Stevie Wonder and Miles Davis (whose trumpeting can be heard on ‘Oh Patti’) were newly recruited admirers. In a “life-changing moment” in the late 80s he discovered Run DMC and latterly decided to make an album which spanned all of R&B, funk and reggae. At the time absorbed in self-doubt and secluded in rural Wales, his 1999 LP ‘Anomie and Bonhomie’ was a warped version of rock-rap, whilst his appearance on a Kylie album came as even more of a surprise. His Mercury-nominated 2006 album showed an unforeseen level of acoustic introspection, but in spite of all of these musical shifts, the well-read musician has always instilled the same leftist politics and philosophy into his music.
No one knows whether you’ll be able to yell along to hits like ‘Wood Beez’ and ‘Perfect Way’ or hear new material (he claims to have 100+ songs in the works), boogie on down or marvel at his soft acoustics, but we have an inkling this’ll be a rather memorable warm-up regardless of what’s planned.
As for headliners ZZE, they’re not likely to let you down. Instruments will flail, time signatures will confound and singers will squall Mauritian Creole, French, Japanese and nonsensical English. Not to mention the kaleidoscopic visuals, noodling bass-lines, hard rock riffs and twisted dance moves. Sounding a bit like Femi Kuti covering Captain Beefheart or an even more maniacal Islet, with ‘Psycho Killer’ vocals and the odd math-y Battles-esque intricacy thrown in, debut album ‘Katang’ spans psychedelia, prog, world, heavy metal and every peculiarity between. It drops in early October but this massive album release party comes to Bristol towards the end.
