Jacques Greene
-YES, MANCHESTER-
Currently I am getting in to running as I am going through a period of unemployment. It helps stave off boredom and generally helps my mental health. Fundamental to my runs is: music. That’s where Jacques Greene comes in. The Canadian, signed to the Lucky Me label, has teamed up with his label mate, CID RIM and produced one of the best songs on my iPod, ‘Kids Return’. The style is dreamy, synthy, dubstep-influenced music, with a masterful use of distorted vocals. When this track is listened to on headphones it keeps me going that extra mile. That is why when I saw that Jacques Greene was playing at YES I jumped at the chance to go. He is not necessarily someone I would have expected to play at YES, a venue which I associate with indie bands rather than big name dance music producers and artists however the Pink Room on the top floor is nicely full for his set.
I feel there needs to be more room to dance as his music makes me want to move and I can’t imagine why you’d want to stand there with your arms folded supping a pint at one of his gigs. Jacques has said himself that when he discovered electronic music he realised that music isn’t just made by ‘four angry men with guitars’. He seems to go a long way to proving that it can be made by one, presumably less angry man however it could be argued in a live situation four men with guitars is more entertaining than one, hunched over a laptop. This is how I feel despite really liking his sound and as there isn’t much to entertain me on stage so I look to the for entertainment as with most dance music events seeing people enjoy themselves is just as important as the DJ.
Unfortunately listening to Jacques Greene on headphones is just as rewarding as seeing him live. That’s not to say it was a bad gig, hearing his music on a good sound system is worth the ticket price alone however some live vocals wouldn’t have gone amiss to elevate his stage appeal although given that not every track has a vocalist, paying a vocalist to go on tour with Greene may not have seemed feasible and why pay when all the voices you need are on that hallowed laptop anyway?
Jacques Greene: Official | Facebook | Twitter
When people ask me what music I am in to, I find it very hard to give a definitive answer because, throughout my life I have been in to all kinds of music from House to Heavy Metal. So I can safely say I am open to most things however, I would say that overall my allegiances lie with Electronic music because it covers so many genres and is constantly developing and changing. Having grown up in Manchester my musical tastes have been influenced by nights such as Electric Chair and Mr Scruff which encompasses the sounds of House, Detroit Techno, Disco, Soul, Funk and Hip Hop. As far as bands are concerned, I particularly like bands that are melodic and have a hook and a heart such as Wild Beasts. While living in London in the early noughties, I was also listening to music that didn’t really have a heart, more of a pacemaker. I was listening to Electroclash at nights such as Erol Alkan’s, Trash. I love writing about music and believe you can be honest about why you don’t like something without being disrespectful, a skill I am still learning in real life! But ultimately I understand that music needs to be experienced first, rather than intellectualised but why do one, when you can do both?
