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Modern acts playing a gig with a classical orchestra – not a new idea … Metallica did it, Kiss did it, even Styx had a go. It’s nothing new anymore, after the initial ‘fish-out-of-water’ novelty of watching a bunch of classically trained, prim, proper violinists performing with some grizzly rockers in a spit and sawdust venue, it is essentially just a band with an orchestra. That’s it.
So you’d be forgiven for thinking that DJ Yoda playing with the 40 piece Heritage Orchestra (as part of the Audi TT Remastered series) would be, likewise, just a DJ with an orchestra. And judging by tonight’s audience (a bunch of students and Fabric regulars) that is what is expected – there’s no black ties, or ball gowns and tiaras. In fact, no sign of the fusion between hipertyhopsters and any typical classical concert going elders that we were promised in the pomp surrounding this showcase (the only member of the crowd Gigwise spots over the age of 30 turns out to be Yoda’s father-in-law. Nice chap actually.) People seem to be here to see Yoda do some nob-twiddling and record scratching, the fact that there is a 40 piece orchestra on stage is a mere distraction.
What the audience expect, however, and what they eventually get are very different things. After hushing the crowd, who ‘shhh’ and giggle like a bunch of primary school kids waiting for the headmistress to come into assembly, the conductor belts his orchestra into the soaring intro of Gabriel Prokofiev's pioneering new work ‘Concerto for Turntables & Orchestra’, with no sign of Yoda at all. Necks crane. Eyes wander. Where is he? In this opening to his piece, Prokofiev has set his precedent. This is not a DJ with an orchestra. This is an orchestral piece, which happens to have a DJ in it.
After this uplifting intro, Yoda shuffles out and gives a wave to the crowd to huge applause. But there is none of the cockey head nodding or joviality we’ve come to expect from the 'Cut 'n' Paste' deckmaster. Yoda is, like the rest of the orchestra, completely transfixed on the composer like a bonefide classically trained musician, reading his musical score as intently as the violinist sat next to him. The first movement retains the soaring strings of the intro, combined with a hip hop drum beat, and sparsely interjected scratches by Yoda. It gets heads nodding, but never really seems to get off the ground.
Unfortunately, this is true of much of the 30 minute piece - there are moments in which the idea of a classic piece for the DJ really stands out. Mid way through the third movement, for example, Yoda bounces off of the String section perfectly, mixing his own take on the string sound into the live music played by the orchestra. It's unfair to say that he is simply manipulating their sound, however - in playing with tempos, pitches, and melodies, Yoda truly becomes part of the orchestra. In fact, if anything, the 40 piece ensemble is doubled in size by the addition of this DJ; it is almost as if he IS the second half of the orchestra, filling in for a whole other string, percussion and brass outfit - in this respect, the concept is phenomenal; substituting more commonly found orchestral instruments with a modern medium that both mimics, and adds to the sounds it is using.
The vehicle used for this concept, however, is less successful, and frankly a bit boring. To truly capture the hipperty hop driven imagination of tonight’s hooded crowd, the music would've had to have been exciting, engaging and something that was recognisable as classically inspired beats. But it seems that 'knowing one's audience' is not at the front of Yoda & indeed, composer Prokofiev's minds tonight, and the lengthy, and in places mundane piece loses the crowd's attention - even Yoda's in-law agrees ("Not the kind of thing you'll be whistling on your way home" he jokes).
As the night progresses, Yoda returns to what he knows best, taking to the decks for an hour long 'classically-inspired' DJ set, much to the relief of a beat hungry crowd. It is disappointing that this classically inspired hip hop (basically any hip hop that involves a string sample by the sounds of it ...) gets the biggest response from a night that promised something so much more artistically original. Conceptually, there may well be room for contemporary artistry such as the turntablist in the classical world, but its success really depends on the live vehicle in which it is presented - tonight's piece really does not do justice to what is a fantastically exciting idea.
