Greatest comeback since Lazarus.

by Bob Osborne. 25.06.10.

Twenty five years on from its conception, and after a lengthy hiatus, Salford's very own AAAK (As Able as Kane) are back. The historic charm of Sacred Trinity Church was transformed into a base for a multi-media spectacular as cascading lights, smoke machines and projected images supported an intense, and muscular musical performance from Ding and Paul.

 Celebrating the event of the launch of an album of "re-made" tunes from their work in the 1980s - called The Collection - the duo ran through selections from the album with an effortless and energetic display of their trade-mark "building-scape beats".
The sound is akin to hard electronic dance acts like Front 242, and Nitzer Ebb, however AAAK harness a more primal sound which echoes Salford's historical legacy - both its geography, and industry. This is  hard, unrelenting music but also has a melodic side so often lost in the mania for beats and glitches in today's electronic world.

Also fascinating is the structure of the music - yes there are typically heavy bass lines, and layers of arpeggios from the synthesizers, over busy rhythms from the drum machine - but also the use of guitar to give a "punkier" edge, together with dynamic parts which add tension and release to the core beats. Paul's voice is transformed, but not excessively, using electronics allowing him to move from deep growl to harmonies at the flick of a foot switch. And it was not all foot to floor 4/4 beats there were slower more introspective sections which set the scene for the booty shaking rhythms to follow.

Using two screens a visual feast was added to the musical delivery with scattered imagery in sync with the music, coupled with an impressive light display and Paul and Ding's assured stage presence. All in all complete show for the eyes, ears and head.

Stand-out tracks were the new Sweet Sweet Kiss, plus originals Time, Sharpshooter, and Crash but it is fair to say that the whole set was excellent and the audience was blown away by an impressive performance.

The new album is now available via Ding through his MySpace or Facebook or direct from the record label Electric Tremor. Highly recommended.

You can read a full review of The Collection on Bob's Aural Delights Blog page.

To see AAAK's myspace page- click HERE.