Gazelle Twin & Grand River, Glasgow review: 'a contrasting double bill'

The second night of the Sonica festival of audio-visual riches kicked off with a contrasting double bill of solo electronica composers. Grand River aka Dutch-Italian producer Aimee Portioli opened her set based around new album All Above with plangent piano chords and ambient murmurs building to a persistent hum. High pipe-like sounds resonated more forcefully as the beats ramped up and flickering refracted light and the slowly advancing dry ice created a sedentary clubbing experience.

Sharp sonic stabs and depth charge bass notes accompanied poetic spoken-word samples. Red spotlights strafed the room as Portiolo layered an ominous quaking judder with rotor-like modulation. A Vangelis-like filmic interlude seemed to push the set to a natural crescendo but Portolio pressed on to diminishing returns.

In contrast, the absorbing performance by shape-shifting composer and multi-tonal singer Elizabeth Bernholz aka Gazelle Twin seemed to go by in a flash. This simple but theatrical presentation of her fourth album, Black Dog, began with a grainy image of a cottage on the large backdrop. An armchair, standard lamp and carpet were arranged on the stage but the atmosphere was far from homely as Bernholz skulked onstage, triggered her soundtrack and unleashed her contralto cry in the dark.

Later she slumped in the chair, a light shining into her face, with the alienated air of Bob Geldof in the film of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Back on her feet she was uplit and facing down the crowd with a two mic attack, in angelic/demonic dialogue with herself over a churning rhythm.

Then the house lights were turned up with nowhere to hide on a tender, exposed lament with a bewitching bluesy quality before she shifted again to more guttural vocalisation, using the tone of her voice as much as any lyric to tell her story.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​