Martial Canterel
September 13
Shacklewell Arms. Cold Wave

Touch the sound. I would even lick it if I could. Melodies are embracing the crowd in a trip to the centre of your mind. You don’t need to smoke
weed to touch what I felt Tuesday September 13 at the Shacklewell.

I was looking forward to attending any of his gigs, but the stick of luck never blessed me till now.

Martial Canterel is another minimal wave/synth project by Sean McBride, from New York. See also Xeno and Oaklander.

Sean’s first official album Confusing Outsides was released in 2005 and reissued in 2013. It’s absolutely mandatory for the ones that love the genre.

Martial Canterel records and performs using only vintage analogue synthesizers and sequencers, something that is not very common in this mainframe generation. Encapsulated in a labyrinth of cables, Sean created a radiant live atmosphere that beat our souls, controlling our bodies and undoubtedly stirring my hope for electronic music.

After a few disappointing gigs from bands that I love over these last few years, such as CC Dust and Total Control – I prefer to call it karaoke, with the poor live shows and genuine intangibility. Canterel, however, pervaded our vital organs with his solid achievement.

He played songs from his last two albums, but very challenging to recognise. I’m pretty sure he never plays the same song more than once. The tenacity of his exquisite sound left an overwhelming feeling that kept me awake all night.

-Gema Germen