Centre stage at the 02 academy stand two metal desks overflowing with cables, effects boards and keyboards. Even an old film editing unit, a relic from Hollywood, makes it into the set up for Holy Fuck, a band that are accurately described on their website as ‘a chaotic live celebration of lo-fi noise and weirdo casio-driven rock’. A room full of fans wait in anticipation with the knowledge that tonight’s set will be a unique performance, a new musical creation of the moment.
The reason for this is that the band has an incredibly flexible model for their performances. Keyboardist Brian Borcherdt tells me that to be a good performer you need to ‘take full advantage of the fact it is live’ and to take opportunities ‘where you can do something random, fun and new’.
With Holy Fuck there are no pre-recorded loops or determined structures that you might find with other electronica bands, and the guys insist that the laptops hanging around are purely for emailing and never make it on stage. This lack of restriction means that you know what they play on the night is going to be original. It will be a synthesis of how they are feeling at the time and the audience’s response, of the things that have worked on the tour so far and some fresh experimentation. The familiar criticism of bands simply recreating their latest album certainly does not apply in this case.
As the band begins to play it is clear how they have managed to carve out such a good reputation as a live act over the past few years. The experimental and volatile mix of effects and synths from Brian Borchedt and Graham Walsh sit on top of a gutsy rhythm section of funky basslines and relentless drumming that give the performance a sense of urgency which is infectious. The band is under no illusion that it might not be to everyone’s taste. Brian admits, ‘its not vocal music, its not really pop music but it still has a dance-ical element to it’. That ‘dance-ical’ element is what makes it accessible to a wider audience than just hardcore electronica fans.
Holy Fuck go to a lot of effort to try to recreate the impression of a live show on their CDs, which comprise entirely of live performances from tours or recorded from single performances in the studio. ‘[Recording is about] trying to get as close to the essence of what we’re doing as we can’ explains Brian. ‘It’s all in relationship to one another’s part so recording together is really the only way to achieve that result and cohesiveness’. Despite their best attempts the recorded tracks never quite seem to capture the true genius of their live show, not because the various elements don’t come together any less well, but because, as with any band, you can never capture the atmosphere and energy of a packed venue.
Perhaps there’s even something deterministic in it. A CD will always be the same, whereas with Holy Fuck’s live show the sense of the unknown makes for the feeling that the audience are not only witnessing artistic creation, but are an active influence on it. With this kind of experiential content it is no wonder that they continue to increase their international reputation – they were hailed by NME as one of the top three performances of Glastonbury last year.
Although a focus on live performance seems to be the way the music industry is moving in face of decreasing CD sales, Holy Fuck don’t seem to notice that they could be a perfect example of a band set up to succeed in this changing environment. ‘There can be a lot of motives for getting out on the road and into the studio’ Brian tells me, ‘but one of the most important ones is that you have to enjoy it and we enjoy it so much that we’re not really focusing too much on the commercial side of it’.
Holy Fuck will be releasing their new album this autumn and it promises not only to be a great record, but also hopefully to provide material for their next tour and another chance to witness an incredible live act responsible for some true artistic innovation.
