Lykke Li Live @ The Dutchess, York. 10th October 2008

Sometimes even a beatnik blogger needs a bit of pop in their lives, and Lykke Li was just perfect because a) It’s endorsed by Pitchfork b) she isn’t big yet… I’m kidding of course, but there does seem to be a bit of a buzz for Lykke Li in the hipster circles for what is pretty much a middle of the road pop act. This isn’t to say she is bad at all, in-fact I really enjoyed her live show, it was just a bit tepid rather than a joyous pop romp.

The gig was in The Dutchess, which I still haven’t made my mid up about yet. The venue it’s self is pretty cool but they need to beef up the soundsystem so you can hear it over the millions of people who seem to just want to chat through the whole gig right near the stage. The sound man is miles away as well, I wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t hear what was going on. I can’t be arsed moaning about it anymore the place has potential.

Lykke’s support was a loan singer / guitarist who did the looping the stuff I bang on the body of the instrument thing. I think he was called Jova or something, I can’t find anything on him now, and he was pretty hard to hear over all the shouting hordes so that kind of watered down his performance somewhat. So I feel bad judging him on that, but he didn’t really stick in my mind at all…

Lykke Li was me with a lot of enthusiasm by the crowed and launched right into one of her upbeat numbers, for me this is what she does best by a long shot. I’m not a fan when she goes all slow-mo ballad style on us. She only had about three or four top class tracks though in this vain so the set was a little light and I think even she knew it as she had to resort to playing about three covers, and dropped the odd rap tune to liven the place up. KRS One was whacked on and they left the stage so we could just dance to it, this was one of the highlights of the gig for me, and kind of unexpected. The percussion was loose and fun, like they were just jamming at home. Lykke’s presence on stage is wicked she really rocks out, to the tracks which adds some much needed energy to it all. She has passion and makes me swoon a heck of a lot.

Overall Lykke Li was pretty damn good and enjoyable, yet a little bit mellow for a Friday night with lots of people shouting and wanting to party. I left feeling I would have seen more of a spark…

Check out this video of her anyway:



Lykke Li Space
http://www.myspace.com/lykkeli

diskJokke – Staying In

Now I’m a fan of dance music and I love it when there is a really good dance album that is a whole package that you can listen to all the way through. diskJokke has pulled this off with style; with Staying In, its just so damn addictive and ace. I would describe the sound as maybe 8-bit-trance-electro-beat or something. Apparently diskJokke is a classically trained Violinist and this shines through on some of the compositions here. The beats are all full of fun and the bass is phat and a little old school rave in places. The Guardian give the quote, "Emotional club tracks with the kind of sadness that seeing a melting polar ice cap evokes." And I have to agree with that statement I think, it sums up the sound quite nicely. There isn’t a track as mental, cheesy and ace as Popcorn on Staying In but maybe that is a good thing and some of it isn’t far off that kind of sound. This is playful techno with a little bit of a sad heart too its completely adorable and danceable to boot. His remix work is also top notch; I really like his rework of Lykke Li’s Everybody But Me. Bubbling synths and drum machines combine with a beautiful euphoric sadness and joyful ping all at once its quite special indeed. Each track is solid on Staying In I’m not even going to pick a stand out, they all work together really well and flow in and out of each other with ease. Ok so the album may not be perfect it is a little samey and doesn’t really go to far in the way of different moods, but the mood it does take is damn enjoyable. diskJokke has made one of the best dance albums this year for me so far.

Lykke Li

This girl mesmerises me at the moment. Her videos for the single ‘I’m Good, I’m Gone’ and the EP track ‘Little Bit’ are beautiful performances. Lykke Li has an amazing voice its beautiful and soft. The musical backdrop is also pretty special, ranging from electro style blips to organic loops of found percussion and acoustic guitars. Have a listen for your self; Click the links for the songs I found online.

Lykke Li – Dance Dance Dance
Lykke Li – Tonight