One of the great things about the DIY live music scene is its ability to transcend boundaries – financial, cultural, social, even geographical. Anything goes.
In sidestepping the recognised commercial hierarchy of gig venues, promoters and agents, the underground DIY network has the power to connect people from very different worlds, all bonded by the universal language of music – all in the name of simply putting on a gig and gathering a crowd.
How else could you explain tonight’s event at The Puzzle, where the performers are a maverick blues-noise guitarist from London and a theatre-rock duo who’ve travelled all the way from the Spanish mountains?
The night has been put on by musician and arts organiser, Andy Abbott. He’s a busy chap is Andy. Among many, many other things, he books bands at The Puzzle. He is a cornerstone of the DIY movement, not just locally but internationally. Andy knows better than most the colossal primal impact of live music, having toured chunks of the globe in DIY fashion and reciprocally arranged gigs for little-known international acts in the Calder Valley.
For this, his latest musical assemblage in Sowerby Bridge, Andy has lined up two acts that demonstrate the boundary-bashing ethos quite perfectly.
Stef Kett, from London, plays primarily in the bands Price Attack and alt-soul trio, Reciprocate – an apt name given the shared nature of the scene he is an integral part of. For tonight’s show, he is flying solo. Like a coiled spring, Stef unfurls himself into his guitar, hammering away at the bridge, pulling aggressively on the strings and twisting at the frets like a contorted hunter grappling a wild beast. He has a wonderfully real, soaring voice; a soul-kissed howling wolf.
Headlining are Dèlia and Dadavid, collectively known as Caja de Ordenación Número 4. (Rough translation: ‘Sorting Box Number 4’). They flew in from Barcelona earlier in the week for two gigs – one that was set up by Stef at New River Studios in London, an old warehouse-turned-arts space, and one at The Puzzle. Andy and Stef have played at their collective in Spain and have been trying to coax them over to England to return the favour for some time.
Dèlia: “It’s unusual for us to take a plane and come to the UK, sure, but it’s not that weird for us to do many miles to play a gig. On a weekend, some people go to the cinema, we take the van and go on a long trip to play somewhere – in the Basque Country or Madrid, or mainland Europe, wherever.”
Dèlia and Dadavid’s performance is a fascinating amalgamation of spoken word theatrics and cantering Daydream Nation-esque guitar picks.
Dèlia: “I used to do theatre when I was at university. When we started the band and were writing songs I said ‘let’s try to add this’. It worked. We liked it. It’s a good mix.“
Dadavid: “Yeah, we have very different influences. The Spacemen 3 cover we do, that comes from me. I said to Dèlia: ‘You’re going to love this song’, Revolution. She did. But Walking With Jesus would be my favourite Spacemen 3 song. Or something from Sound Of Confusion. I really like Mercury Rev too. They’re one of my favourite bands. Oh, there are loads.”
They also display a range of non-musical influences, particularly literary ones. Dèlia is fond of old Russian writers like Dostoevsky, as well as a brand new breed of Catalan authors. Dadavid is currently entrenched in science fiction novels.
Their natural habitat, too, seems to have given them an outlook that is both philosophical (“There is no such thing as future, we must live today”) and political (“Everything is political”). Dèlia and Dadavid live off-grid, isolated, high up in the mountains. It has been the environmental muse for much of their musical output.
“The challenges of that lifestyle are also what make it beautiful. There’s always some work to do on the house. You never get bored.”
When they do get to play their instruments, the doors are flung wide open. There’s no electricity, so they use solar panels and batteries. There’s no running water so they collect rain water. Quite comically, tonight, they play a song that bemoans their lack of rain (“Not enough rain – to wash away all the shit”). The Puzzle crowd chortle at the idea of wishing for more of the wet stuff. Dèlia and Dadavid’s lo-fi merch range also includes baseball caps, to keep the sun at bay – I believe they sold a couple at a fiver each.
Joking aside, it is a reminder how far Dèlia and Dadavid have travelled. So far, in fact, that they are referencing a different climate. And it is a reminder of how the DIY scene can harmonise across such varied cultural legacies, creating and strengthening human ties. There is no need to explain or expound the differences; merely express – and let the music do all the talking.
Support the artists
Listen to Caja de Ordenación Número 4’s full set at The Puzzle on bandcamp.
Listen to Stef Kett on bandcamp and follow him on Instagram.
Words & media: Stephen Desmond
