Decoder Ring

Last Saturday, Sydney band, Decoder Ring played as the feature act of the Riverbeats festival, a multicultural arts celebration on the banks of the Parramatta River. The location was certainly out of the ordinary, as far as gigs go. The stage was set up on one side of the river, with audience on the other. Above the stage was a giant white dome, with images being projected onto it. As you went down the river in either direction, there was an assortment of lights and candles and two more giant domes. It was certainly worthy of being called spectacle.

Such a setting could not have been more perfect for a band like Decoder Ring, whose music is truly epic. Sure, this term gets tossed around alot, but I'm talking about the expansive, emotional sounds you hear coming of bands like Sigur Ros and Mogwai. The sweeping soundscapes, compounding layers of instrumentation and descents into chaos. This is where you'll find Decoder Ring. And just like Sigur Ros, they know how to use visuals to build on the impact of their music and create that complete experience.

This particular Decoder Ring experience began with a visual montage, soundtracked by them and projected on to the giant domes. It was a fast-paced stream of images that featured, amongst other things, raindrops, monsters and giant sets of teeth. It kept things interesting while the band set up and really built the atmosphere for when they arrived on stage. Their actual set was even better. The lighting, location and nature of their music made for a very awe-inspiring show. The highlight was the final track, Welcome Shoppers, which builds with immense power and then progresses into an awesome rock-out. And if that wasn't enough, fireworks erupted as the final notes were played. It was pretty hard not to be impressed.

Welcome Shoppers

Decoder Ring recently traveled to America to record their new album. Expect to hear more of them very soon.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

the animations before decoder ring were actually by Motomichi Nakamura (http://www.motomichi.com/), a Brooklyn-based digital artist and audio by NZ electro composer Stray Theories (http://www.myspace.com/straytheories). This merged with the start of Decoder Ring's Set.
"Coupled with this will be massive projections along the River from New York based Japanese animator Motomichi Nakamura in a collaborative performance with electro-composer Stray Theories form New Zealand, local indigenous performer Flinn Donovan on didge and the amazingsoprano tones of Elixir Voices."

Philippe said...

Damn I missed this!

Peter said...

cool. i must admit i was only guessing they were behind the soundtrack, based on how well it flowed into their set. the music and animation was great, but the didgeridoo and singers seemed like they were tossed in as an afterthought

Darragh said...

I'm extremely glad Decoder Ring are back in action. I really love their live shows.

rr8004 said...

This is just another reason why I like your website. I like your style of writing you tell your stories without out sending us to 5 other sites to complete the story. Please come visit my site Cleveland City Business Listings when you got time.

rr8004 said...

This is just another reason why I like your website. I like your style of writing you tell your stories without out sending us to 5 other sites to complete the story. Please come visit my site Cincinnati Yellow Page Business Directory when you got time.

rr8004 said...

Please come visit my site Business Directory Norfolk when you got time.

rr8004 said...

Please come visit my site Business Reviews Of Norfolk City when you got time.

rr8004 said...

You can be friends with me. Please come visit my site St. Louis City Business Listings when you got time. Thanks.

rr8004 said...

You can be friends with me. Please come visit my site Cleveland Business Directory when you got time. Thanks.