A Guy Called Gerald live @ South

Local hero, global legend, musical pioneer. From acid house to drum ‘n’ bass, our pick of this week’s club nights should educate and intoxicate.

If you’ve never seen a live set by Gerald Simpson, AKA A Guy Called Gerald, then let’s just say it’s not a run of the mill experience. Technically and stylistically unique (not to mention astute), few artists sound even remotely similar on the dancefloor.

There are two significant reasons for this. As one of the original 808 State members, the man who wrote Voodoo Ray, a key figurehead in the development of drum ‘n’ bass (see his Black Secret Technology LP), and a globally respected techno don, he doesn’t let silly things like tempo get in the way. Deep four fours give way to ravey, snare-topped breakbeats, running through a spectrum of beats-per-minute in the process.

Secondly, rather than approaching off-the-cuff production sets like so many other faces on the scene, he prefers to use studio kit and software. Such was the case when we saw him perform on two laptops and two versions of the music making programme Reason simultaneously, a show that followed an appearance as guest speaker at the Red Bull Music Academy (a status symbol in itself).

Chin stroking aside the most important aspect of Gerald’s club work is the fact it’s so infinitely danceable. More so, he’s an artist that pretty much everyone can get involved with; indicative of his influence on electronic music as a whole. Friday May 10th sees the man in question play a full live show at Manchester’s South, and taking into account everything written above, it should go without saying we recommend attendance if at all possible. Full details below the following evidence for our argument…