Belsonic: Basement Jaxx – 16th August 2013

Basement Jaxx with support from Leftfield & Le Carousel
16th August 2013 – Custom House Square, Belfast
The opening night of this year’s festival would see the London based electric duo headline with support from London two piece Leftfield and Phil Kieran’s band project Le Carousel. Aware that Tennent’s Vital was having the finale of its festival with chart topper Aviici as its headliner, I was slightly apprehensive when I first arrived by the crowd or lack of it to be honest. It wasn’t until the second half of Leftfield’s set that my panic subsided and the square began to fill.

The duo of Felix Burton and Simon Radcliffe are well known for their live sets being a mix of the audio and visual and Belsonic was a fine example of that. For me some of the visual highlights included musicians dressed as crows, dancers in amazing golden headdresses. The music was a mix of classic jaxx along with the new, the well-known rhythm and bass being entwined with Spanish guitars and Latin sounds.

The guys back after a two year break, showcased their new songs along with the magnificent vocal talents of Sam Brookes on some of the newer tracks, ‘Back to the Wild’ and ‘What a Difference your love makes,’ the latter will be their new single due for release on the 30th September with a new album to follow.
The crowd of 20 and 30 something’s showed their appreciation of both old and new when the guys broke out such classics as ‘Rendezvous’ and ‘Where’s your head at?’ Despite the slow start the night proved to be a success and a welcome return to Basement Jaxx.

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