Damo Suzuki
Lexington, London

A SINGLE, drawn-out note, reverberating around the room, heralds the start of something and, as the sound builds, the small stage at London’s Lexington starts to fill.

The note from the keyboard player is joined by the beat of a drum, then a bass adds to the groove, before two more musicians on keys and a lead guitarist complete the mix, but it’s only when a sylph-like Damo Suzuki walks on stage that the room really rises.

Standing there as the maelstrom of music envelops him and his swirling grey hair, he launches into the first and perhaps what may be the only track, calling, cawing and getting an avid audience rapt and ready to rock out.  

This is DSuzuki, formerly of experimental Krautrock legends Can and now acting as a curator of sound on an almost continuous worldwide tour.

Performing as Damo Suzuki’s Network, he brings together an amalgam of local musicians that are his “sound carriers” — here driving a relentless, squelching beat over which he calls and shouts, sometimes indecipherably, but always with conviction.

And that sets the scene for the next 75 minutes or so. As Suzuki grows more animated, so does the band, feeding off his energy, excitement and general love of live performance. Suzuki is a generous guide on a long and winding road that needs to be travelled.
While the lead guitarist leaves a little to be desired, the bass, buttressed by keys, is what makes it, adding a decadent, dirty buzz that takes the sound to a different plane, one that Suzuki is comfortably at home on.

Throughout the short set and encore, it seems that Suzuki and co are sowing musical chaos in the nicest possible way. He looks truly happy, engaged and energised as he takes the audience on a sonic trip.

While experimental, odd and probably a bit self-indulgent for some, the night is summed up in Suzuki’s continued pleasure and paean to sound, experimentation and celebration.

The audience know and accept that. While it may not be revolutionary, it is worth revelling in.