The Necks' 30th Anniversary @ Funkhaus Berlin (22/11/2016)

The Necks' 30th Anniversary @ Funkhaus Berlin (22/11/2016)

At the end of their celebratory 30th anniversary tour, the brilliant Australian trio The Necks arrive to Berlin for a special performance – 2 sets of approximately 45 minutes, entirely improvised and working with the acoustics of the room, at the Funkhaus Berlin.

Masters of their own musical language of long-form improvisation, each night they step onto the stage with no pre-conceived ideas of what they will play – they and the audience will go on a sonic journey that is created in the moment and in that space.
In the last 30 years of playing together, they have 18 albums behind them, annual international tours, and a long row of projects and collaborations with the likes of Brian Eno, Swans, Evan Parker, Karl Hyde, Leo Abrahams,...

Their last 18th album, "Vertigo", is an eventful, kaleidoscopic tone poem set against a darkly shimmering background. Slowly but inexorably moving forward, it crosses many frontiers yet remains true to the mission and mood established in the opening stanzas of this cinematic 44 minute journey. A work able to be viewed either as a whole, or two symmetrical halves, "Vertigo" sees The Necks once again offer an excursion in sound that reflects both the light and darkness of some preternatural world.


"Vertigo" (2015) - listen here

In contrast to the sustained improvisations that are their live performances, The Necks’ studio albums take shape by way of intricate crafting brought to bear throughout the entire recording and mixing process. “The discussion this time really began in earnest in the session itself, where we started to pursue the idea of having a drone running from start to finish, off which we could hang ideas,” said bassist Lloyd Swanton, “But like all Necks albums we ended up in a very different place from whatever our initial notion of it had been.”

Maintaining a teetering tension between suspension and collapse, "Vertigo" draws on a diverse palette of sounds created in the studio by Tony Buck (drums/percussion/guitar), Lloyd Swanton (bass) and Chris Abrahams (piano/keyboards), featuring everything from homemade instruments, extended instrumental techniques and marathon explorations of sonic textures.“

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The Necks live @ Funkhaus Berlin, November 22, 2016

Doors: 18:30
Show: 20:30

More info

VVK: 25€
Abendkasse: 30€

Buy tickets here