Daylight Music, Union Chapel, 03/04/10

I was at the Union Chapel earlier today to see another Daylight Music session, this time featuring artists selected by Manchester label Little Red Rabbit.

First up was five piece Samson & Delilah with their undeviating, pastoral-tinged, contemporary English folk comprising flute, accordion, double bass, guitar and percussion. Second was Kalbakken with their yearning Norwegian folk songs. 

Most impressive however were Last Harbour whose set of dark, shadowy atmospherics coupled with gloriously sombre vocal articulations and emotive strings recalled Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, or possibly even Tindersticks, if they had eschewed their later soulful excursions in favour of a more forbidding path.

Daylight Music, Union Chapel, 06/03/10

After leaving Tate Modern I crossed the Millenium bridge and jumped on a number 4 bus, sat in the front seats upstairs and journeyed through the spacious and visually pleasing streets of Clerkenwell and Angel before finally arriving at Highbury & Islington, where I disembarked and headed towards Union Chapel for the Arctic Circle's Daylight Music event. Hybernation, Marconi Union and Grasscut were playing.

 

 

I only caught the end of Hybernation's set but it sounded nice - beautiful, organic ambient electronica.

Marconi Union played a sublime, captivating instrumental 40 minute set which transported me to some faraway place. The stillness of the sound in parts reminded me of seeing Labradford at the QEH several years ago.

Brighton based duo Grasscut were up next and offered a more song based, varied, left-of-centre sound, mixing samples with electric double bass/cello, guitars and effects. Their set included digitially processed strings, synths and vocals and touched on electronica, glitch, electro and pop, all sitting together quite well.

I will definitely be checking out more of the Daylight Music events. Where else can you sit in a beautiful Gothic church in central London, drinking coffee and listen to engaging music in the early afternoon?