| | Margot/The Projects Arts Caf, London - October 07 2003 | I arrive as Margot are sound checking. As the French boy girl duo complete the song the audience give a small round of applause. The singer waves her hand at us: "We're just sound checking." About half an hour later Margot start for real. Delicate melodies are picked out on guitar over fey keyboard chords and glitch techno beats. Occasionally they sample small snippets of themselves that they loop to create a more complex sound over which the singer's fragile voice swirls and enchants. Coming across like a stripped down Pram or Flying Saucer Attack with Oval on beats they ply a pastoral folk techno which half way through the set begins to sound a little one paced. They try to break out of this pattern two or three times but these moments are not convincing and they sound like a Depeche Mode at half speed. However when they get it right which they frequently do, they produce a transfixing sound. After each song there is generous applause that embarrasses the singer, who glances out from behind her hair and bobs her head shyly in acknowledgment.
<*dv_1*> The Projects are headlining. The sound is not good with the drums and bass drowning out vocals and keyboard that only fleetingly surface from the rhythmic murk. The Projects are heavily influenced by kraut rock. Each song starts with an immediate heavy groove but herein lies the problem. Whilst the drummer is excellent and the grooves are good, The Projects are all climax and no foreplay. For me the best kraut rock starts slow building an ever more hypnotic beat. A couple of comparisons came to mind. Quickspace and the Stereolab. The Projects are not yet as good as either of them. I learn later that the keyboardist used to be in Stereolab which does not surprise me as when you could hear the keyboards they had the labs trade mark warm analogue bubble. The Projects may yet be worth keeping tabs on.
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