IN ITS relatively short life, the Electric Frog weekender has built up a following so devoted that this year it has managed to sustain three separate events so far. Much of the festival's unique appeal must be down to its location in a set of railway arch industrial units on the border between the West End and the Clydeside Expressway. There is a mostly covered stage out in the street and a dark concrete upstairs space that, in its combination of mirrorballs and exposed ventilation system, is the measure of any ad hoc London clubbing space.
While this most recent edition of Electric Frog saw a mouth-watering selection of classic clubbing greats like Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Frankie Knuckles (pictured) and Joe Claussell line up on the Saturday, Sunday's events were more of an experiment: the first day of Electric Frog to be led almost entirely by live bands. It wasn't helped much by the weather, a day somewhere between drizzly and rainy causing awkward puddles to form in the gutters within the street stage, but expert and inspired programming meant this was the kind of event to make you want to hide in the dark and forget the world outside. The combination of quasi-electronic artists and bands with a resolutely underground following also suited the setting perfectly.
Earlier in the day saw sets by danceable Scots outfit Errors and fashionable dubstep-infused duo Mount Kimbie, amongst others. The first of the marquee names arrived with the evening and a gloom that just didn't want to lift, as Mark E Smith's newest and once more retooled incarnation of The Fall offering a surprising release from the weather with a set of growling rock 'n' roll that had long gone far beyond post-punk.
Despite an unfortunate synchronicity of set times between both stages, it was possible to catch a decent chunk of every act. Fortunately,There are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses, however, a set time overrun on the indoor stage served to separate Wild Beasts and The Field somewhat. The former were one of the day's more anticipated highlights, delivering dream-like guitar music with very softly layered electronic elements on tracks like Bed of Nails, The Devil's Crayon, All the King's Men and Hooting & Howling, their ambience recalling Talk Talk and their deft and often foot-stirring arrangements calling to mind Talking Heads.
The Field, meanwhile, were a revelation. While Swedish artist Axel Willner has built a reputation making electronic music for such cutting edge dance labels as Kompakt, his live set was given the raw energy of a rock 'n' roll gig with the addition of a live drummer and bassist. Even headliners Mogwai, debuting tracks from their new EP Earth Division, had to work hard to win back the attention of those who had witnessed The Field, although their typically widescreen set benefitted from the extra energy of a hometown crowd and the inclusion of a couple of tracks which inspired some feverishly atypical dancing.
Where T in the Park is recognised as a lager-chugging, hard-partying, definitively Scottish festival, Electric Frog is its polar opposite - the distilled sound of Glasgow's underground, of the basement clubs and hidden house parties, of those who set the agenda in the dark for all others to follow.Its reign is more than well-deserved.
While this most recent edition of Electric Frog saw a mouth-watering selection of classic clubbing greats like Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Frankie Knuckles (pictured) and Joe Claussell line up on the Saturday, Sunday's events were more of an experiment: the first day of Electric Frog to be led almost entirely by live bands. It wasn't helped much by the weather, a day somewhere between drizzly and rainy causing awkward puddles to form in the gutters within the street stage, but expert and inspired programming meant this was the kind of event to make you want to hide in the dark and forget the world outside. The combination of quasi-electronic artists and bands with a resolutely underground following also suited the setting perfectly.
Earlier in the day saw sets by danceable Scots outfit Errors and fashionable dubstep-infused duo Mount Kimbie, amongst others. The first of the marquee names arrived with the evening and a gloom that just didn't want to lift, as Mark E Smith's newest and once more retooled incarnation of The Fall offering a surprising release from the weather with a set of growling rock 'n' roll that had long gone far beyond post-punk.
Despite an unfortunate synchronicity of set times between both stages, it was possible to catch a decent chunk of every act. Fortunately,There are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses, however, a set time overrun on the indoor stage served to separate Wild Beasts and The Field somewhat. The former were one of the day's more anticipated highlights, delivering dream-like guitar music with very softly layered electronic elements on tracks like Bed of Nails, The Devil's Crayon, All the King's Men and Hooting & Howling, their ambience recalling Talk Talk and their deft and often foot-stirring arrangements calling to mind Talking Heads.
The Field, meanwhile, were a revelation. While Swedish artist Axel Willner has built a reputation making electronic music for such cutting edge dance labels as Kompakt, his live set was given the raw energy of a rock 'n' roll gig with the addition of a live drummer and bassist. Even headliners Mogwai, debuting tracks from their new EP Earth Division, had to work hard to win back the attention of those who had witnessed The Field, although their typically widescreen set benefitted from the extra energy of a hometown crowd and the inclusion of a couple of tracks which inspired some feverishly atypical dancing.
Where T in the Park is recognised as a lager-chugging, hard-partying, definitively Scottish festival, Electric Frog is its polar opposite - the distilled sound of Glasgow's underground, of the basement clubs and hidden house parties, of those who set the agenda in the dark for all others to follow.Its reign is more than well-deserved.
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