Northern Winter Beat, Aalborg, Denmark, 1-3 February 2024

Deerhoof, Alabaster DePlume, Memorials, Julie Byrne

Northern Winter Beat, Aalborg, Denmark, 1-3 February 2024,

February 08, 2024
By Irina Shtreis
Photo by Northern Winter Beat (lead photo)
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“I don't know anything, but I think you're doing very well. It's not that easy.” Alabaster DePlume breaks the ice in a half-whispered voice as if sharing a secret. “Each of you has suffered to live up to this point, to reach this moment.” The London-based artist's stage talk might seem puzzling in a different time and circumstance, but not now. The enigmatic frontman and his band – bassist Ruth Goller aka Skylla and drummer Donna Thompson – present their experimental spiritual jazz set at the Utzon Centre, the futuristic concert venue designed by Jørn Utzon, creator of the Sydney Opera House. Limfjord, the fjord near the building, sums up the music succinctly. A steady flow with occasional surprises like those found in urban seaside areas. With DePlume on sax and spoken vocals, Goller's propulsive bass and Thompson's effortlessly powerful drums, the set conjures up the Ethio-jazz magic of Mulatu Astatke. There is a kind of inexplicable magic that brings the three together in what appears to be total improvisation. The words come out of thin air, but they consistently address one issue – the value of human life. “I don't forget my National Insurance number, but I forget that I'm valuable,” DePlume muses in one of the final tracks.

While in Aalborg, it's easy to get lost in time and forget about self-awareness. In this former Hanseatic city, where once some of the streets were canals and would have served as shipping routes for traders, time barriers are seemingly non-existent. Northern Hemisphere combines the city's thriving past and present, celebrating music with acts from near and far. The central space, Studenterhuset (The Student House), is buzzing with life. Run by volunteers, mainly students from Aalborg University, the bar and concert hall is the local cultural hub where respected acts mingle with up-and-coming artists.

However, despite its overall celebratory mood, the existential ideas manifested by DePlume are shared by other musicians on the bill such as Mary Ocher and Julie Byrne. Both face the other side of life. Byrne's latest album The Greater Wings is an audio letter to her deceased partner Eric Littman. Hence the ethereal arrangement, delivered by harpist Nailah Hunter and Jake Falby on piano and fiddle with Byrne singing and playing semi-acoustic guitar in a Joni Mitchell-esque manner. On “Hope Returns”, she picks up her Gretsch, creating a contrast to the delicate sound of the previous songs, – possibly emblematic of transformation and take-off followed by a period of grief.

At Huset, an intimate space that hosts more experimental acts, producer and solo artist Mary Ocher explores existential boundaries through the prism of the collective rather than the personal. Her last album Approaching Singularity: Music For The End Of Time it is a reflection on the world's self-destructive tendencies. Appearing on stage with plastic ram's horns on her head, Ochra playfully embarks on a trip down cultural memory. Born in Moscow and immigrated to Israel by her parents at the age of four, the musician later found an artistic home in Berlin. Balanced between cabaret numbers by Soviet composer Alexander Vertinsky and Cat Power, the songs seemingly reflect the adventurous and transformative journey.

Affirmation and transformation go hand in hand in Northern Winter Beat. The opening concert at the Budolfi Church is one such example. Here, festival goers are encouraged to walk around the church rather than occupying a fixed seat. The performance they are treated to is part of a research project by a Danish artist Lars Greve. Seated in the altar area, the musician plays a double clarinet. The sound is reflected by metal plates that are placed in various parts of the church space. Deep and siren-like, it brings to mind scores from Béla Tarr's films. However, the effect is more uplifting. Inside this echo chamber, one finds oneself capable of magic, manipulating the plates in the desired direction while absorbing the reverberation.

The transformative energy of music and people revitalizes genius places. At the Gråbrødrekloster Museum, located on the premises of the 13th-century Franciscan monastery, Texas-based guitarist Hayden Pedigo performs instrumental pieces that exude serenity. Most compositions are in open tuning. Just like compatriot Ryley Walker, who played the same venue during the 2020 festival, Pedigo cites prog-rock acts like Soft Machine and King Crimson as formative influences. However, despite the undeniable perfectionism, it has a lightness to the touch. Between songs, Pedigo reveals that this is his first visit to Europe: “Denmark is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life. Texas isn't like that.” Denmark's northernmost city, Aalborg, is really diverting. On a Saturday stroll from the hotel to the Biffen cinema, it's impossible not to stop at the ornate 17th-century Dutch Renaissance masterpiece, Jens Bang's House. Instead, the destination is an old power station, now transformed into a multifunctional cultural hub. Here, festival-goers are welcome to watch the premieres of two music documentaries Talking Heads – Stop making senseso what Did you get it yet? The story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd. Although the latter does not aim to be objective in terms of facts and figures, it demonstrates the breadth of Barrett's influence on subsequent generations of artists. Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Dream Academy's Nick Laird-Clowes and MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden are among the fans featured in the film.

Deerhoof, this year's Northern Beat headliners, would probably agree with them. The dynamic chaotic music of the band does not obey any structure and clichés associated with the genre. So it will Monuments, the duo consisting of Verity Susman of Electrelane and Matthew Simms of Wire and It Hugs Back. They were going to see the film, but the soundcheck for their Huset show coincides with the screening. In the evening they play at Huset. Cinema is essential in both of their lives. Some of the compositions are from their recent records Tramps! and Women Against The Bomb, written as a soundtrack for respective films. Accompanied by abstract graphics, the two multi-instrumentalists conjure psychedelic experiments of early Pink Floyd.

Norwegian collective Drongo they have no visuals to accompany their stark ensemble. However, the effect is immediate. A few minutes after their performance, the well-known gestures evolve into a passionate dance. With three keyboard players, three guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, Drongo creates a dense sound that is remotely reminiscent of the Apparat Organ Quartet. Although the band describes itself as space disco and krautrock, this is a puzzle of genres, with house, funk, metal and psychedelia. All compositions are named after animals. One in particular, “Spekkhogger” (translated as orca), is just as intoxicating as “Interstellar Overdrive”. Ultimately, Drongo is a reminder that Northern Winter Beat is first and foremost about joy and the power of music to dissolve existential crisis.