GORGON City were a surprise omission from Parklife in 2015 but they graced the Main Stage yesterday afternoon (June 11) to a huge crowd. Our reporter Nathan Salt was amongst a rain-soaked crowd…
Gorgon City live is distinctly different to listening purely to the record; not necessarily worse but definitely different.
Mainstay Gorgon vocals were supplied by Josh Barry and Lulu James, a pair who were working with Gorgon City way back when Quays News saw the DJ duo at Warehouse Project on Store Street in early 2015.
With ‘Sirens’ their only album so far, much of the material surrounded that record with ‘Ready For Your Love’, ‘Here For You’, ‘Real’ and ‘Imagination’ all lifting the spirits of the sodden supporters.
Yes @Parklifefest pic.twitter.com/lrBI9KKY1L
— Gorgon City (@GorgonCity) June 11, 2016
From when I last saw the duo live at 2015’s We Are FSTVL in Upminster, London, there was a clear shift to a more vocal-led performance rather than just mixes and beats.
It seemed to be a clear tactic for acts on the mainstage to spring a surprise with a secret collaboration being sprung out of the blue.
One of the pair’s newer tracks is entitled ‘All Four Walls’ and features the vocals of Blythe Pepino from London trio Vaults.
She provided the original vocal that someone like Lulu James, as good as she is, simply cannot match and it made all the difference.
It may have only been a three to four minute cameo but fans appreciated the gesture of Pepino to join Kye Gibbon and Matt Robson-Scott on stage.
A cover of the ever-so-popular Drake track ‘One Dance’ featured in their set – unsurprising given this was the track City covered in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in the not too distant past.
People enjoyed it for what it was: a Drake track. But this version – in fact it could go as far to say any version – simply doesn’t provide the same vibe as the man himself and thus it’s no more than a melancholy inclusion.
There were moments in the set where the crowd were wild but also moments where it was incredibly tame considering a pumped-up DJ duo were centre stage.
Newer material from their latest venture ‘The Kingdom’ arguably deflated the atmosphere with less people sure on the tracks and lyrics but that was common for all artists across the day who played newer, less heard material.
Yet, putting all that aside, the Gorgon City boys remain at the top of the game for a reason. ‘Sirens’ was a debut album of terrific quality and their latest venture showcases that the quality and ability to be on the musical pulse is not on the wane.
They ended with their Jennifer Hudson record ‘Go All Night’ which, for some die-hard fans, was exactly what they wanted, only for Stormzy to be waiting in the wings.
A storm was brewing it could be said…
By Nathan Salt
@NathSalt1
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