An Alternative Pick n Mix - Diffracted Events takes over The Crofters Rights
- May 4, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 1, 2024
I think every music lover in the Southwest can agree that live shows have taken a bit of a nosedive since the mass closing of grassroots music venues, such as Moles - one of the most influential venues in the UK. Kai Hewlett and Rory Larsen Barker are two such individuals that have been greatly affected by this, having both worked at Moles until its closure, and have witnessed the sudden change in the live music scene. These two decided to put their heads together and host a gig with a wide expanse of alternative music, while also raising money for grassroots music venues.
The night was ushered in by GRANDCHILD (click the photo for their Instagram), a cinematic post-rock trio who brought the moodiness in without delay. As soon as I walked into that little room filled with fog, I was locked in. We all know I'm an absolute sucker for instrumental music, so they had my heart straight away.
These guys had the most unbreakable concentration on that stage. They didn't even look out at the crowd once, but I appreciated that because their set is clearly more about their music than them as personalities - it also helps the audience to pay close attention to what they're playing. Speaking of playing, I loved that one song blended seamlessly into the next the whole time - it takes a lot of skill to pull off a rolling set from start to finish without a hitch, and yet these guys did it seemingly effortlessly.
Another thing that I took away from their set was some of the choices in sound that they made. I don't think I've ever seen that many pedals and controllers used by a 3-piece before. (Even the drummer had a set of controllers on top of the bass drum which made some pretty crazy noises!) One of my friends said to me at one point that it sounded like we were inside the belly of a mechanical sea monster, and I think there's no better way to describe it. The ambience was absolutely killer and sent a shiver down everyone's spine. There wasn't a word exchanged between anyone in the room for a full set, which is something that's super hard to achieve.
Finally, I can't talk about the magnificence of this group without mentioning how skilled the players themselves are. I swear that synth player was playing 3 parts at once at one point, and it was captivating to watch him dart around his little array of dials and keys. The drummer was absolutely locked in, and has written parts that are extremely technical but seem so simple in the moment because he leaves enough room for the bulk of the song. That self-awareness carries across to the guitarist as well, who blended into the mix perfectly (a rarity amongst guitarists), and yet he knows the perfect moments to poke out and play a melody line that quickly captures your attention when there's any danger of drifting off. Love these guys, defo adding them on my Spotify. They released a new single "Pendle Hill" to kick off this year - click this picture (above on mobile browsers) to check it out!
Epimetheus (click the pic for their instagram) was one of the craziest vibe changes ever, and they snapped me right out of the weird flow state GRANDCHILD had me in. The main thing I remember about these guys is that they fuckin love space. All their songs are about space. They had some guys scream "SPAAACE" at the back of the room every time the band mentioned the word. It was clear from the get-go that these guys just wanted to have fun and enjoy their set onstage.
They made it very obvious that they had a lot of skill under their belts with nice little time changes in places and a VERY impressive scream from the bassist, but that wasn't all that this band was about. They got all the crowd interaction, pulled all the right faces, and used a hell of a lot of movement to get the energy spike they wanted. The playing was fun and loose, but the structure was super tight, and it was a good, well-rounded set. Everyone was happy thinking that they knew this band's whole vibe and was bobbing along. That is, until that LAST SONG. That final track caught me SO off guard, I couldn't control the grin plastered across my face (something my mates took the piss out of me for until the next band came up). Suddenly, the skill level has raised to absolute maximum, and everyone in the room is completely stunned. I love that the entire audience was fooled to brilliantly, including myself - I think this is one of the smartest bands I've ever run into. They had me chuckling to myself for a good while, imagining them playing that last song knowing that everyone was gonna be so shocked. I would love to hear more technical songs like that one every so often.
Their latest release is a single called "Alone He Guards This House" (click the picture for their Spotify), and I hear they're planning to release an album this year, so keep yer eyes peeled!
Kitchen Lover (click the pic for their Instagram) were definitely the most visually succinct band. They have their brand nailed, from the lead singer Lars changing outfits ONSTAGE to the pink and sparkly sheets covering the space - I knew these boys were gonna be a right laugh from the get go.
One thing I noticed was that Lars' guitar signal was split between the guitar and the bass amp, which I haven't actually seen before, but very much approve of. Most bass-less bands normally chuck an octave pedal on their guitar which works fine, but I think having a wider frequency range filled any gaps in the sound that would have been made with a pedal. Another extraordinary thing about this frontman was his ability to play, sing, and move around as aggressively as he did. He was flinging his upper body around in literally any direction physically possible, hair completely covering his whole head at times, somehow keeping the mic in place with only his face, and yet he kept tempo the whole time - a tribute to how well-rehearsed these guys are.
This was another band that switched up their style in the middle of their set, but instead of intellectually stimulating the audience, they played more to people's emotions, and some COUNTRY music came off the stage?! Completely unexpected, but very much well-received. The boys slowed right down and started to sing about an Alsatian, a subject which is very close to Lars' heart (considering his choice of words when introducing the track). I don't know anyone who loves dogs more than me so it was easy to tug on my heartstrings, but every person I could see had glassy eyes during that song. Not to mention, country music has taken a bit of a hit in recent years because a lot of it has been massively commercialised, but this song was a shining example of the genre done right. It wasn't until after that track that I noticed the cheeky little fills and chords that are reminiscent of country music, which made me chuckle.
To summarise, the best way I can describe this duo is "mish-mash". These are a couple of very talented, very smily boys making good music and just having fun. I mean, Lars wasn't able to stay still while onstage, and that energy became infectious. Their chaotic, punky attitude is so loveable, and these two make an incredible team.
They have 4 songs out at the moment, all of which were released this year - click on this pic (above on mobile browsers) to check them out, and let's hope they keep up the momentum!
Muncle (click the pic for their instagram) brought a majority of the major chords, with the cleanest sound of the night. I know I've said that the vibe was flipped on it's head with every set, but I think this was a very good judgement call from the event organisers, because it meant every band had the challenge of starting with a clean slate, rather than riding off the energy of the band before, and these bands were all so brilliant at doing so - further proving their confidence in their art.
The most impressive part of this set had to be their harmonies. For sure, every part was tuned super well, and none of them ever strayed from the others - rhythmically or melodically. I was specifically blown away by the bassist, who was belting out some pretty challenging notes without any difficulty. These guys have clearly been doing this together for a while judging by their deep familiarity of all the tunes, and yet their passion for playing them hasn't dwindled in the slightest - all of them were giving 100% (especially the drummer - his limbs looked like they were gonna fly off at one point), and that enthusiasm passed over to the crowd, who were super receptive from start to finish.
These guys have been going the longest, with their discography spanning all the way back to 2013 - check out their latest release by clicking the pic (above for mobile browsers)!
I have to preface this section by saying I have never heard a band like this in my life before. This band is the reason why this article is coming out so late - I have tried for so long to try and put my feelings about this group into words. This is the best I can do, and it still doesn't do them justice.
No Violet (click the pic for their Instagram,) is the epitome of alt music, I think. It's a week after this event and I'm still in shock. They've put me in such a state that I can only describe this set with some ephemeral metaphor, rather than using techincal terminology. When I write my notes during sets, I write in stream-of-conscioussness bullet points, and these were the first three points for this band:
what the FUCK
WHAT
THE BANSHEE ... I think this is the most succinct way I can get my point across.
The technicality of this band was absolutely insane. The grungy istrumentation, paired with the math-y arrangement, and to top it all off, that VOICE! I was told by multiple people before this set that I was going to love this singer, and I'm so glad these people know me so well. I'm convinced that this singer isn't a human, but a siren that has been cursed to walk amongst people. When I listen to their releases online, her voice sounds like it has some cool effects on it or something, but the exact same sound came out of her mouth completely dry onstage.
There's a concept that kept coming to me throughout this set - that the members of this band represent the elements (stick with me here). The drummer - the immovable force that holds down the fort - unmoving, unaffected. The guitarist, with the top end - branching off from the main melody to travel to a different realm. The bassist, in constant motion - keeping the flow of things, but knows when to get serious. Syncing up with the guitarists’ movements every so often without even noticing. Solitary, dependable. And that singer. That singer is made of fire. Her conviction and control stun everyone. She dims down to a flicker, melting everyone for a second, and then explodes and catches you off guard. This group is a perfect collection of individuals.
These guys haven't released music since 2018, but that's because they're currently working on their first album! Be sure to help them out by buying their gorgeous sunshine merch, and check out their songs so far by clicking on the pic (above for mobile browsers)!
All in all, I think the two knuckleheads that put this night on did a stellar job. This is a perfect example of just how versatile one genre can be. All of these bands were excellent choices, and everyone received an amazing reception. In my opinion, this night couldn't have gone any better.
Not only that, but I think the most commendable thing about this event is that 50% of the profits are going to the Music Venue Trust to support grassroots venues all across the UK - something that I think the music industry as a whole really needs to appreciate. Although this event is over, you can still donate through Diffracted Events by clicking on the lovely photo of No Violet's bassist below, and I've heard through the grapevine that there will be more Diffracted Events takeovers to come - bring on more niche alternative music, I can't wait, boys!
All photos were taken by @crocasilerecordingproject and @daisy._.wallace on IG
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