Gig review: Moderat, Glasgow

It’s the usual conundrum for a dance act seeking to establish themselves as a live draw: how does one transform the intrinsically boring prospect of blokes standing behind keyboards into a stimulating gig experience?

Berlin-based trio Moderat delivered with a simple but effective visual show

Moderat - ABC, Glasgow

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As always, it all comes down to the son et lumière and Berlin-based trio Moderat delivered on both counts with a simple but effective visual show, projecting monochrome graphics and animation on to screens set at an angle, to complement a dynamic set of restless drum’n’bass, chunky synthquakes, moody electro torch songs and euphoric techno odysseys.

All three members have prior experience as purveyors of beats – Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary as Modeselektor and Sascha Ring, who also supplied atmospheric live vocals, as Apparat. Their composite sound is hardly original.

Dance music appears destined, like other musical genres before it, to regurgitate its best ideas from decades past for subsequent generations, be it Daft Punk’s nouveau disco or, in Moderat’s case, the widescreen electronica acts of the 1990s, such as Orbital and The Chemical Brothers.

But in recalling such eclectic festival favourites, Moderat offer more than just the instant party mix of their peers, with even a gothic edge to some of their soundscapes. They did, however, choose to end their main set with a touch of trusty Eurotrance, before returning for an underpowered encore which held back until the closing moments before delivering a passable clubby climax.

Seen on 8.2.14