BLACKMANTIS | LIVE PREVIEW
Livestreaming @ Cultvr, Cardiff, Thurs 3 Dec
Back in the ancient era of April, the debut album by Blackmantis came out. A tasty package too – purchasable on 180-gram vinyl, perhaps the choice format for this kind of rich instrumental jazz excursion – but prevented from being promoted like it warranted, especially in the form of live performances. Cultvr, a still-relatively-new multimedia space in Cardiff, had a Blackmantis gig booked for late May, which obviously didn’t happen, and for now at least our best bet is to watch the group do their thing on livestream, the latest in On Par Productions and Bubblewrap Records’ sessions to be broadcast from here.
Their founding member and primary composer Deri Roberts is also a south Wales native: he’s been a figure on the more forward-thinking end of the region’s jazz scene since the early 00s. As a member of Slowly Rolling Camera (credited with “electronics”), he’s combined his jazz grounding with the more meditative, filmic side of trip-hop. If you happen to be a fan of that group, especially their latest, instrumental album Juniper, you may well dig Blackmantis’ Devil’s Flower LP, but even with added member crossover it’s far from a retread. Saxophonist Ben Waghorn, a venerable Bristolian and sometime sideman for Portishead and Goldfrapp as well as Slowly Rolling Camera themselves, shines when called upon and pulls the album towards comparatively ‘straight’ jazz; elsewhere, Roberts’ digital rhythms splice with SRC bandmate Elliott Bennett’s drums to innovative effect, and there’s a veritable wizard’s dungeon of keys across these eight numbers, the early 70s feel of Mark Sambell’s Rhodes standing out. Amen For A Brother’s title, likewise its arrangement, sharply tips a hat to the storied history of the breakbeat.
All in all, it should be a tonic watching this ensemble – not confirmed how many’ll be present here; there’s six musicians on the Blackmantis album – even if you have to do it through a screen for the mo. One of Cultvr’s main selling points as a venue is the big white dome which live shows take place in, allowing for visuals (courtesy of 4Pi) to be projected onto every surface. This worked very nicely at the last Cultvr gig open to the public, headlined by Keys back in the even more ancient era of February, and should suit a suite of music which is rather immersive in itself.
From 8pm; free to view. Info: www.cultvr.cymru/black-mantis
words NOEL GARDNER