In May 2011 I went to see Animal Collective playing live at Paradiso in Amsterdam. It was like a swim in visuals and sound. Five years have almost passed, and I am ready to dive in again. They are coming to play on Saturday 2 April as part of Rewire Festival in The Hague.
At the time I was living in Haarlem, a painter’s heaven for its beautiful streets in the historical centre and home to Frans Hals museum. My painter friend Emil Harkó was really keen to go, he said their music is so far ahead, and it probably influenced him in his abstract paintings of the time.
The day after that concert I was also inspired by them and wrote these thoughts for my old blog:
Spectacular visual fields were constructed, jointly progressing with sound, vocals used as an instrument and light guiding the intake of this empowering experience.
We were left begging for more: watching another band will never be the same again, as the visual part is so strong you wonder why it has played a relatively minor role in the presentation of music so far.
Having sound and music presented in such a way really helps to focus your attention on trying to decode such an abstract body of work. This isn’t just music, it’s art.
I really enjoyed it.
Rewire is an annual international festival for adventurous music. The festival presents a broad programme with a focus on contemporary electronic music, neo-classical, new jazz, experimental pop, sound art and multidisciplinary collaborations.
You can still get tickets from www.rewirefestival.nl/tickets