JOTA | Brighton Music Blog

Saturday night in Brighton and we were getting our groove on at the Green Door Store for a free-entry night of “intergalactic sounds inspired by outer space” with four local dance-oriented acts, headlined by the legendary psych-rockers Cloud playing what I was told was rumoured to be the opening and closing night of their 2015 World stadium tour.

Opening act NJ Strange has been messing around with software and technology-based sound for around quarter of a century and laid down some smooth sounds to introduce the evening.

Second on was the electro-dance mix-meister Peter J Mason who is one half of the electro-pop high-drama-duo Becky Becky as well as re-mixer for the likes of Button Eyes, Woodpecker Wooliams and various Fence Collective acts. His high-powered hi-energy set played under the new name JOTA really got the joint moving, and well-deserved the hearty round of applause.

Third act INVADR comprised electronics-wizard Matt Garland who had programmed software to project a space-inspired light-show that was triggered by the different aspects of his 1970s synthesiser-driven dance set. It felt a bit Kraftwerk and a bit Jean-Michelle Jarre.

Finally, headliners CLOUD are a bit of a supergroup comprising a movable feast of players from the Brighton music scene past and present. Whilst guitar-based, the group include synths, electro-violin and a guest appearance on flute by Woodpecker Woolliams. The band are infrequent visitors to the stage these days but when they play live their thing is an improvised barrage of psych-inspired rock, with a lot like Hawkwind at their grooviest. They were on very good form tonight and there was a lot of dancing going on amongst the enthusiastic audience. Hopefully we’ll be seeing another space-fuelled psych night like this again soon.