Loop Guru, Meat Beat Manifesto `trance' Numbers
Among the long list of new bands and trends in today's market, a new
phenomenon called "trance-techno" or "ambient" is gaining popularity among very
diverse audiences. Monday night featured two such bands performing at Numbers,
a live/recorded dance club on Westheimer.
The headliners were Meat Beat Manifesto with a guest from the Orb (an established band in the electronic dance music field). They took the stage and were well-received by an eccentric and eclectic crowd. The whole show reminded me of the futuristic club scene in the film The Crow -- complete with many people in assorted odd, black costumes.
Their set evolved from electronic throbbing ambient/dance tracks performed by four guys and a lot of technical equipment to what many call "trip-hop." The music wasn't bad at all, it was most enjoyable to listen to, but the band itself wasn't entertaining to watch.
However, they did have some redeeming qualities. And overall, the show was good. They used a great combination of visual effects, including a wonderful fog and light show combined with two screens bombarding the audience with various visual images and messages. The audiovisual show was good, even if the members were rather motionless.
However, in my modest opinion it was the opener, Loop Guru, that performed a more entertaining show. The London-based band took the stage wearing many fantastic outfits. The lead vocalist was in an iridescent dress; the percussionist's face was painted like an Indian's; and the guitarist with a Michael Jordan jersey while sporting a traditional punk 'do.
Loop Guru performed many songs off of their most recent release (June 1996), Amrita ... all these and the Japanese Soup Warriors , featuring much of the same transcendental, ambient, trance music as Meat Beat Manifesto.
However, Loop Guru's music has another edge to it that gives it a little more variety -- an innovative combination of Middle Eastern drum beats, deconstructed dance music, pop culture samples and interesting jungle rhythms.
Their live show featured many of these influences, complete with a chanteuse crying melodies in definitive Indian scales. Like Meat Beat Manifesto, their music was very enjoyable; Loop Guru just gave the audience a little more live action.
Commenting on how they got their name, they explained, "We started a long time ago experimenting with audio cassette loops; you know, we'd have eight different players each only with one track, and we began mixing samplers and DAT recorders.
"I think these are really the most important instruments of all time because they really allow you to do whatever you want, anything you could ever think of." (For those not familiar with such equipment, a sampler will let you record non-played sounds and manipulate them for playback.) Hence, the fitting name Loop Guru.
Overall, it was a pretty good show set to excellent music.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 20, 1996 issue.
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