The Body & Dis Fig / She The Throne @ The White Hotel, Salford, 28th August 2024

Another evening out and a chance to visit another new venue, to watch two bands that were relatively new to me. I set off to the industrial wastelands of Salford, home of The Sleeping Shaman himself, as he gleefully informed me that the venue was a mere thirteen-minute drive from his house, but with several large dogs patrolling a car park in front of the venue, I did wonder where the hell I was!!

With Strangeways Prison lurking nearby, I wandered up to The Beauty Witch and Grey Lantern hosted event at The White Hotel, a place of mystery and intrigue, housed amongst disused warehouse spaces and stepped inside for a night of, well, I didn’t really know what I suppose. I had listened to the two bands beforehand, but I’m currently stretching my musical boundaries somewhat and this promised to stretch them further.

First up were the mysterious Manchester duo, She The Throne. With a projector on the backdrop behind them lighting up the stage, they appear in a slight haze with the female vocalist wearing a chainmail helmet and face covering, it all adds to the beautiful nightmare that is their music. Assisted by a hooded accomplice, they begin to build tempos, and with her expressive arm and body movements, the crowd are held in some sort of trance.

Now, I’m not going to try and say what songs they played, but I’m guessing that several were from last year’s Nuntis album, but the way they both use experimental and industrial noises with that drone influence, is something else. Some parts sounded like white noise but the high vocal range set upon a slow swirl of blasting synths, all adds to the curious atmosphere. With strobe lights going off, the barefooted singer is haunting with the looped vocals and the explosions of sound are matched by blazing visions on the screen behind them.

It’s an immersive experience, and towards the end, one of the songs makes the floor vibrate, and there are times when I feel like I’m back at an old school rave or watching Leftfield and Roni Size. The hooded accomplice is moving his body all over his machine and I’m waiting in anticipation for the song to explode and to hear that massive drop, but it never comes. Finally, as the chain mail comes off, we are greeted with a wave and a beaming smile that lights up the room and ends their evening.

For those that know much more about The Body than me, which will be most people I hasten to add, the duo consists of Lee Buford and Chip King, yet due to having bad motion sickness and a phobia of flying, Buford is unable to take part in these shows, so the drumming duties are performed by Zachary Jones.

I was safe in the knowledge that their recent collaboration with Dis Fig, aka Felicia Chan, meant that they would be playing all songs from Orchards Of A Futile Heaven and when the booming cacophonous noise begins, it really was quite mesmeric. The beats pulsated and reverberated around the converted garage, which felt like the perfect venue to watch their intoxicating rhythms.

The packed-out room seemed even more transfixed than before and stood motionless for ages, all eyes and ears focused on the soaring vocals and twisting melodicism. King’s barking down the microphone, whilst being about a foot away, was piercing right through me at times, but when combined with the vocal talent of Dis Fig, it works so wonderfully well.

There was no crowd interaction or indeed any pauses in the music, so they cheered and applauded in the momentary lapses in sound. As the beats got faster as they weaved through the music, heads are nodding, bodies are swaying, and with one moment sounding like a bike engine being revved up to the max with spluttering sonics being spewed out.

Dis Fig cut an animated figure on stage, and in between her moments of utter lunacy and softer serene vocals, she gets right in the faces of the crowd with her abrasive nature. Her experimental DJ sounds bring so much to the experience, her vocal range and pitch are also completely compelling and an absolute joy to watch and listen to.

It’s quite an intense experience to listen to live, and with Jones adding much with his drumming, the beats just keep coming and we the crowd, never knowing what to expect next, are all enthralled. It’s a sonic nightmare. On the final movement, I put away my pad and pen, and stood there, eyes closed and just listened to the music. My heart was racing, head pounding as no song sounds the same, but each take you off in a different direction. A night that I will never forget.

The Body & Dis Fig

She The Throne

Scribed by: Matthew Williams
Photos by: Lee Edwards