Beibei Wang, Wu Xing (5 Elements), Tangram, LSO St Luke's, London, 28 January 2023.

gentle rhythms and meticulously controlled, quiet feedback and snare noise. This pair worked so well together with their unique yet unified approaches that I preferred the sparser moments where the field recordings were not present. The Jitterbug performance was followed by Viola Yip’s Liminal Lines II. Yip is known for visceral performances where she attunes her body to the quirks of a particular piece of technology. Liminal Lines II was a gesture-driven noise set where she interacted with a plastic raincoat, lined with speaker cables, attached to a chain of effects pedals. The performance began with a tone slowly emerging, with slight movements, eventually leading to larger movements to touch different parts of the coat together, allowing noise and feedback patterns to gradually emerge. This then built into a full-bodied noise wall and an eventual scrunching up of the coat. The performance radiated tension with certain gestures not always rewarded, or at least not right away, allowing both artist and technology to become symbiotic agents in the work. Yip’s set was complemented well that evening by a very differently approached noise set from Nacre (Marion Camy-Palou) working with a simple set-up of electric guitar, amp and effects pedals. The craft that went into this performance was incredible. Nacre’s approach possessed a powerful rawness: relentless attacks on the guitar with sounds emerging that were so detailed it almost seemed like magic, given the set-up. The textural detail was particularly special: swiftly and fluidly morphing between and layering percussive tones, voice-like feedback, rich drones and noise walls. I am always excited when contemporary music organisations make the effort to step out of the concert hall and cross over with popular music, jazz or the more DIY side of experimental music. I strongly believe that these communities should mix more and that they can inspire and learn from each other. This year’s Electric Spring put on two acts that did this. Four-piece ‘avant-pop experiment’ Saenture worked well in this role with a set that moved between drummachine dance tracks and ambient tracks with synth drones, field recordings and beautiful moments from a gently played processed psaltery harp. Two of the members were responsible for a wonderfully organic approach to visuals, drawing and collaging images under a projector. The festival also put on post-rock band Adore// Repel, which frankly was mediocre with a standoff laddishness that I prefer to avoid when I can. I would have been much more excited to hear a rock band that were more exploratory and inclined to care about experimental music, of which there are plenty in the north of England. Though Electric Spring, like any festival aiming to be varied, had points that were hit-or-miss, I truly believe it to be special in terms of programming exciting music, pushing boundaries and bringing together a curious community of listeners and practitioners.