Project Description

BEN FROST

@ Carriageworks

12/01/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Dan Turner

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Musician and composer Ben Frost has always possessed an uncompromising vision for his work. His current project Widening Gyre is no exception and is a live evolution of his 2017 critically acclaimed album The Centre Cannot Hold – where Frost performs in the centre of the room, using analogue tape and guitar feedback fed through multiple digital arrays with the crowd surrounding him.

Upon entering the bunkerish Bay 16 at Carriageworks and seeing eight racks of amps placed in a circle all facing the multiple sound-desks at the centre of the room, I knew this was going to be loud.  Sydney Festival staff were also handing out earplugs to the audience as we took our places near the centre. Small lights seeped down from the roof to illuminate the mixing desks whilst taut, thick cables wound upwards into the ceiling. The sound engineer was already there offering ear protection to those who were close by as the room filled out to a soft droning sound in the background. A black clad Frost entered through the crowd and took his position in the centre and gave an affable ‘hello how is it going’ before taking his shoes off. The now audible droning picked up in intensity as both engineer and artist focused on their consoles.

The tracks started to form out of Frost‘s layered sounds and became a sonic collage manipulated by it’s creator whilst rising steadily in volume. Taking a look around the room many people were sitting on the floor entranced and I caught the glare of a random accidental burst of a smartphone flash before it was quickly squirrelled away into a nearby pocket. At one point Frost switched to guitar, sending volatile bursts of feedback into the live mix creating a swirling vortex of noise.

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At this point I walked around the room to hear the show from a different position. I passed a person who was trying to measure the decibel level coming out of one of the amps on his phone and another who was trying to record the sound from it. Finding a suitable spot near the wall, I sat down to take in the atmosphere. It was then that Frost shifted into the opening track from The Centre Cannot Hold – Threshold of Faith. The punishing intro was  followed  up by the anxiety inducing respiratory noises.  I felt like I had been atomised in an airlock and blasted into space.

The crowd slowly gravitated towards the centre for the last 15 minutes of his set with Frost guiding the sound into the more ambient textures of the album. At the end of the show he left his post and exited through the crowd leaving the sound engineer and a growling static hum.

 

Check out Dan Turner‘s gallery of the show HERE

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