Zetan Spore, Epoch Live.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 23th June 2007.

Reviewed by Martin Stapleton / Pictures by Martin Ward.

Ah, Cornwall, my annual holiday destination. Time spent soaking up a Cornish knocker, or a pint of ‘cloudy’ and tucking into some freshly caught Newlyn fish. It’s a long seven hour journey to Penzance, and it takes us through the town of Cambourne, home to Zetan Spore, who take a break from performing at Club 2000 and every other Cornish festival or venue, to pay their first visit to Esquires, courtesy of the Sid Worth Memorial Trust Fund.

ZETAN SPORE are brothers Ian Hasdel (synths, programming) and Mark Hasdell (guitars, didgeridoo). They are best described as euphoric, psychedelic trance. Unfortunately it’s a disappointing turn out. Maybe the people who would have attended this gig are splashing around in the Glastonbury mud? However, with the current new rave phenomenon and Bedford’s clubby student population back from clubbing, it was a shame that more locals did not dip the proverbial toe in the sea of mystic Cornish revellery.
Zetan Spore certainly are the real deal as they provide not only some amazing music but an absolutely stunning laser show, that creates an ambience seldom seen or witnessed on Level 2.
Mark opens with, I think, the only words of the set, as he commands the prophetic "Lets have a great time!".
Although the duo are hugely anti-charismatic, the soundscapes that Zetan Spore create are richly compelling, even breathtaking, in their enormity, which starts with 'Escape Velocity'. A tune that lulls us into a false sense of quiet safe security before a heavy pumping bass kicks in with an almost synthesized Morse code tapping some sudden hidden hypnotic messages. While ‘Balloonatic’ opens with a repetitive trance beat, with some faint didge noises emanating and gnawing at the brain cells only to be replaced by some very heavy techno, pumping and pounding. My favourite Zetan Spore song of the night had to be ‘Harmonic Thribbulence’. Mark opens with a didgeridoo solo, the sound of the Australian Aboriginals from centuries past whilst the synths bring a modern slant, a real clash of the cultures. A spiritual mix of the old and new while the laser effects create an image of the future, a life not yet found. The evening closes with the appropriately titled ‘Jump Up’, a chance for the collages of sound and light to take full effect as the song splinters and metamorphoses into so many directions and phases.

Supporting Zetan Spore tonight were drum n bass duo, EPOCH Live. A genre rarely featured on Level 2 these days, they are from North London and featured Maria on vocals and keys and Nick on drum machine. Although interesting, it’s not the sort of music that keeps me enraptured.