Tba

After a year's break, we're back on OndaRock covering a night from the Fosfeni Festival. Before recounting the exploits of the excellent Natalie Beridze, it's only right to praise the whole staff behind this event. From the Città del Teatro in Cascina, a splendid venue set in a perfect environment, to the Musicus Concentus cultural association, capable of bringing together a lineup of musicians rarely seen live in Italy. A round of applause to everyone. Unfortunately we were only able to attend one date, as work commitments prevented a full review.

Without dwelling on the history of Tba, referring readers instead to the feature on the Georgian artist, let's move quickly on to the show. The premises worth mentioning here, before delving deeper, are mostly matters of curiosity. The music, accompanied at every date by videos projected behind her, created each time by an artist from the country hosting her, as she requested. In this case, the stunning videos on display were the work of Stefano Fumasi aka Fake Factory.

Natalie appears after a brief, gracious introduction from the staff member, inspiring warmth and affection. After sorting out a few technical hitches (the driver for her laptop's sound card was giving some trouble), the performance begins. The first thing that stands out positively after the first 20 minutes is the variety on offer. Usually, many electronic musicians, in live performances, stubbornly stick to fairly constant sonic registers (a flaw noted in certain Matmos shows), which can bore, if not irritate, the audience.

Natalie Beridze, on the other hand, cleverly alternates between noisy passages, danceable bursts of energy and moments of calm, piano-driven stillness. This tendency faithfully mirrors what also stood out on her recent records, particularly the double album released under the name TBA (“Size And Tears : Alice In Wonderland”).

The way these electronic tones are stitched together does immeasurable good for the flow of the show, which runs for around 90 minutes. The presence of the visuals, moreover, lends a crystalline magic to the sounds, almost as if the two elements merged in symbiosis. The rhythmic convulsions that veer toward the artist's more frenetic work (especially her partnership with Thomas Brinkmann, Tba Empty) stand out for their danceable punch, making you want to jump on stage with her and shake your head (as she often does).

When, on the other hand, fussy webs of glitch-noise take over, everything loses its coherence and the Sala Piccola in Cascina is swamped with deliciously random sounds. The more abstract side of her music emerges pure and intense, with no frills or compromises; every kind of inhibition is set aside for a devastating sonic impact. Careful not to read into these words the description of some shapeless noise mess; every little jagged edge of these sounds has a considered, well-structured origin, with no risk of tipping over into senseless chaos.

The pauses in which she sends gentle, sweetness-filled piano lines through the speakers are relaxing and very welcome. After 5-10 minutes of sonic lashings, she herself tells us: ”The next track will be so sweet”. Influences from contemporary classical music are clear and absorbed with personality.

Every shift is happily accompanied by the videos of the already mentioned Stefano Fumasi, a highly capable visual artist who feeds the audience references to pop-art, fantasizing between flora and fauna, conjuring vivid colors and the darkest of tones. Fantastic is the moment when a dj turntable appears, on which funny, stylized drawings can be glimpsed.

In short, even live, this confirms the outsized potential of this artist, who has yet to reach the peak of her career, and whose eccentricity will surely reward us with juicy developments to come.

Ride the wave of great music

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