Hidden Door

Hidden Orchestra

Leith Theatre, Edinburgh

Miranda Heggie

three stars

HAVING long been known for blurring the boundaries between electric and acoustic orchestral instruments, composer and producer Joe Acheson’s Hidden Orchestra were Saturday’s headline act at Hidden Door. Visually this was an impressive set; two drumkits bookended the stage, with the ensemble in between them, and beautiful live visuals from Tom Lumen were projected onto the walls. Sadly though, much of the music was lost in translation, presumably through poor sound mixing. A steady, dark, visceral bassline pulsated through the set, and percussion was tight and punchy.

However, most of the individual instruments were difficult to discern. Rich, sonorous string playing layered on top of the bass and percussion, with Su-a Lee on electric cello, and Poppy Ackroyd on violin, but brass instruments were impossible to distinguish, both upstairs and down. Phil Cardwell’s trumpet playing, while to the naked eye seemed detailed and virtuosic, was pretty much silent, and the same can be said for Tim Lane’s trombone; had I been blindfolded I would have no way known there were brass instruments on stage. Gentle pizzicatos were just about audible from harpist Mary Macmaster’s, but again, the finer detail was drowned in the overall mesh of sound.

This is a band who should be mesmerising. The crowd were positive, and the set was by no means unenjoyable, but the essence of what these musicians do was muddied. Putting orchestral instruments into electronic music, then bringing that into a club environment still is pioneering and quite exciting, so it was somewhat tragic that Saturday’s gig did not ignite. Rather, it gave a wash of sound which was obnoxiously loud, yet heartbreakingly inaudible.