Live
Oranj Son
Cavern Live Lounge, Liverpool
February 22 2017
Words/Pictures: Jane Davies
The Cavern Live Lounge this week welcomed Oranj Son, Scarlet and the Delphina Kings as part of an evening curated by BBC Introducing’s Dave Monks.
With an enthusiastic and vocal audience assembled - which included Colombian tourists, a man with a backpack strapped to his back for the whole gig, more mature music lovers and the bright young things of some of Liverpool’s finest bands - alt-poppers Delphina Kings were the first on stage, performing a smart set complete with synth backing tape which was very retro and original.
Next up, locals Scarlet rocked and literally rocked the Cavern walls and suitably insulated us from the Beatles tribute band in the room next door with songs from last autumn's 'Effigy' debut album.
Oranj Son open with a deep bass line and very audible synth, effectively recreating a night out in Manchester in 1980 or ’16,000 days on earth’. Very pleasant echoes of Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’ pulsated throughout the room; the curiously named, but surprisingly catchy, ‘The Girl in the Gas Mask’ following fast on its tail.
It didn’t take long for the energetic dancing to kick off and ‘Blue Maomao’ was the catalyst. The synth leads this song with a melodic hook and the drum compels you to go for it and dance around holding onto to several people at once. The pace slowed momentarily for a very melancholic interlude, all swirly slow synth but then up again into a rap like number accompanied by a repetitive synth loop. Simple, but effective.
Dancing resumed with ‘Still’ their newly released single, a cathedral like synth line running all the way through it, with strutting bass and foot tapping drum. ‘Radio yWires’ stood out with its strong electronic melody bursting out and racing along. ‘Psycho Disco Face’, their first single propelled us to the end of a most energetic set.
Oranj Son are without doubt a crowd pleaser of a band; cheers, clapping, whistling and whooping greeting the end of each song. There had been universal approval from all quarters - including the Colombian tourists who had been up at the front giving it their best for most of the set. Tonight it was proven that authentic 80’s synth lines can hold their own against the usual guitar heavy model of a band. When most bands use keyboards, they end up on the psychedelic spectrum, but not Oranj Son who showed they are a unique and intelligent mix of the old, and new.
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