102 • UNCUT• OCTOBER 2019
recordedversion,it nowholdsitsownalongside
theirguitar-heavyrecentmaterial,whilethelikes
of“BizarreLoveTriangle”and“Temptation”
arethestirringfestivalanthemstheyalways
shouldhavebeen.Gone,too,is anyresidual
awkwardnessaboutplayingJoyDivisionsongs.
“She’sLostControl”is tenseandmuscular,while
anencoreof“Atmosphere”and“LoveWillTear
UsApart”– theformertoa montageofIanCurtis
images– is a realtear-jerker.
Kraftwerkwillalsocelebratetheir50th
anniversarynextyear,butthere’snoquibbling
abouttheirlegacy.Whiletheymaynothave
releasedanynewmaterialsince2003,alloftheir
classictrackshavebeenretrofittedwithpounding
bassandpumpingcontemporaryrhythmtracks,
soastoprovokeaweandnostalgiainequal
measure.Inscrutableasalwaysbehindtheir
lecterns,theirstiffnessis a performancealmost
ascompellingasthe3Dgraphicsthatseemtoleap
from the big screen and soaroverhead(thereis
a cheerwhenthey
showa spacecraft
takingofffromthe
adjacentLovell
Telescope).Ending
witha hypnotic
medleyof“Boing
BoomTschak”,
“TechnoPop”and
“MusiqueNon
Stop”,youwonder
if RalfHutteris makinga pointabout
Kraftwerk’senduringnature;having
alreadysubstitutedthreemembersofthe
band,willhemakegoodonhisthreatto
replacehimselfwitha robotwhocankeep
pumpingout“Trans-EuropeExpress”
inperpetuity?Butthenyouwitnessthe
hintoffrailtythathascreptintohisvoice,
addinganinescapabletingeofpathostothe
likesof“ComputerLove”– a reminderthat
Kraftwerkare,aboveall,a deeplypersonal
andempatheticcreation.Theman-machine
is human after all. SAM RICHARDS
F
IFTYyearssinceNeilArmstrong’s
giantleap,Bluedotcelebrates
theanniversarywitha galaxyof
moon-themedtalks,workshops
andinstallations.Astrophysicist
EamonnKerinsdrawsa mid-
afternooncrowdthatwouldbe
theenvyofmostbandstoexplainhowwemight
onedayvisitdistantplanets,althougha strong
ExtinctionRebellionpresenceatthefestival
highlightsmorepressingconcernshereonEarth.
Tosomeextent,Bluedottacklesthatdichotomyby
regardingthemoonlandingswithironicdistance.
Hencetherearestallswhereyoucansniffthe
MilkyWay– theillicitnatureofthisthrillonly
enhancedbythefactit smellslikeamylnitrate–
orlearnbasiclightsabertechniquefroma
note-perfectObi-WanKenobiimpersonator.
Thissenseofwholesomesillinessis reflected
inthemusicaloffering,whichis generallymore
retrofuturistthantrulyoutthere. Thereare
enjoyablesetsfromthelikesofHenge
andGoldenDawnArkestra,who
delivercosmicrockwithoneeyebrow
raised. 808 State’sclangingacid
housewasoncethesoundofthe
future;thesedaysthey’rea heritage
act,albeitonethatstillpacksa punch
ontent-fillerslike“InYerFace”.
JarvisCockerhasa newsongabout
housemusic,revisitingtheterritory
of“SortedForEsAndWhizz”,though
lackinga similarlyrousingtuneit
comesoffasa bitpatronising.
“MustWeEvolve”apart,hissolo
materialis flimsy,forcinghimto
compensate with increasingly goofy
posesandspace-basedaudiencebanter.
JohnGrantisanotherdrolllyricistindanger
ofbecominga comedyturn,buthismagnificent
voice,boomingoutintothenextfield,savesthe
day.Mostimpressiveperformeroftheweekend,
however,is theoddlyunderratedAnnaCalvi.All
inblackagainsta solidredbackdrop,shescreams
andshredslikea one-womanZeppelin.
Perhapsit wastheexperienceofrearranging
theirsongsforsynthorchestraatMIFtheother
year,butNewOrderhavebelatedlybecomea
greatliveband.Whereas“BlueMonday”often
sounded shaky and apologetic compared to the
BLUEDOT
JodrellBankObservatory,Cheshire,July18-21
Kraftwerk and New Order dazzle at music/science fest
NewOrder:
they’ve
gained
control
LUCAS SINCLAIR, SCOTT M SALT
AllofKraftwerk’sclassic
trackshavebeenretrofitted
with pounding bass
Kraftwerk:
onegiant
leapforman-
machine kind
