Meute
Mr. Automatic
The Bottom Lounge
October 15th
MEUTE / đź“· : Tina Mead
Electronic music has a long and storied history. From its birth in the 80s clubs of Detroit, London, New York, Tokyo and Chicago (each taking on its own unique style), to the underground warehouse parties and raves of the 90’s (unless you lived in Europe, where it was big festival business already), to its emergence as a dominant force in pop music within the last decade; it’s sweeping appeal has touched all corners of culture. With the emergence of livetronic acts in the 2000s a new element has been added: live instrumentation, creating the sound and feel of what used to be done solely by mixing pre recorded material or with the aid of computers, is now being produced with the experience of live musicians experimenting with how far they can push their creativity to make music that borders on the boundless. Coming out of Hamburg, Germany the eleven members of Meute, may be the first livetronic (they call it techno) marching band; we searched and couldn’t find evidence of another. They swung through Chicago this week on their first U.S. tour; and from the response of a sold out crowd, it won’t be their last.
There is no other way to describe the experience at Bottom Lounge on Tuesday evening than stupendous. An unmistakable life-affirming energy filled the room in anticipation as Mr. Automatic started off the show with his Swinghouse jams. What is Swinghouse you ask? Take the classic genre, dismantle its elements: tight horn lines and danceable melodies; throw in some house grooves and driving bass and you have Swinghouse. A master of the genre, Bill Holland (aka Mr. Automatic) took a few tunes to get the crowd going, but once they bought into the sound the dancing commenced and by the time the short set peaked, it was time for him to step aside for the main event.
As the house lights came down, and the white sidelights slowly came to life, the glowing glockenspiel standard marched onstage to begin the set with a ping (imagine a small metal xylophone on a long pole and you’ve got the picture). The sousaphone followed, producing the bellowing bass that makes up the floor of all EDM, and then the bass drum pounds and the stage came alive with teaming bodies as the horns join in for the first of what is to be over an hour and a half of searing energy and rapturous delight. What Meute produces is the musical equivalent to a gorgeously produced DJ set, but with eleven minds working as one, instead of a computer and one human. The unbelievably tight compositions are extremely well rehearsed, with moments of improvisation worked into the mix, letting each musician have their own moment, while keeping the whole glued to the momentum or beautifully repetitive beat. After only a few years together, they clearly know each others styles inside and out and play off each other to great effect: from the highly impressive shaker/bass drum human machine playing off the two drum set wearing percussionists and the vibraphone strapped marcher, to the interplay between the seven horns, and the constant beat provided by the low end, all wrapped into a package that produced a non stop, dance fueled party. As their set ended, there was no doubt an encore was on its way, but instead of sliding back onstage they marched into the crowd to the center of the house, and fully encircled by their adoring fans, proceeded to continue to melt our faces with their talented display of skill. Live In Paris, a double live record, just dropped last week and is available to purchase or stream, and comes highly recommended. It’s the closest you can get to having been there. One of the most unforgettable musical experiences of 2019.