Do you want to know what it looks like to take Ecstasy? What it sounds like to trip on DMT? Kind of scared to try the drugs? Look no further than Shpongle!
Shpongle is the moniker for English psytrance artist Simon Posford and has been for the past 18 years. Posford performed at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday with Phutureprimitive on his Shpongletron 3.1 Tour, taking the audience on quite a trip.
Posford’s set was atmospheric, reminiscent of the 1990s trance scene. The music sounded otherworldly as Posford performed encased in the Shpongletron — a vibrant mix of infinity mirrors and video-mapped surfaces looking almost like an interdimensional portal.
The music contained a psychedelic message of love and empowerment. Channeling all of the cosmos, Posford connected with the audience with something I truly believe to be of a spiritual nature.
[ READ MORE: Shpongle performance at 9:30 Club ]
Multicolored arms danced across the structure as LED lights created limitless tunnels within the mirrors — all designed by Peter Berdovsky, also known as Zebbler. Jellyfish floated in a deep blue as Zebbler artfully mixed his way through the visuals.
I stood in the back, watching Zebbler and Matt Fradley, the sound technician, working as hard as Posford on the stage, ensuring the seamless integration between the audio and visual stimuli.
The other act, Phutureprimitive — also known as Rain — warmed the crowd up shortly after 8:30 p.m. Dressed in a black tank top, Rain brought thunderous bass and glitchy melodies to the forefront of his set. Calling the crowd “freaking sexy” and “beautiful,” Rain continued his way through this bass-heavy soundscape he had created. Throughout the show, Rain used an AlphaSphere, a collection of touch pads that modulates the music past any standard DJ set. Ending on a high note, Rain described his music as his refuge, quoting Maya Angelou: “I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.”
He added: “The greatest currency we have is not our money, but the actions we take.”
Posford brought Rain out at the end of his set, and with the leftover time, the two created a live jam session on the stage, the two taking their position on stage modulating and creating right on the spot, ending in a beautiful wall of feedback.
“I know it’s a cliche, but that’s because it’s true,” Posford said near the end of his set. “We are all one. You are me and I am you.”
