Review:'Ikitan' 'Twenty-Twenty Live at Forte Geremia'
- Genre: 'Post-Rock'
- Release Date: '25th June 2021'
Our Rating:
If the last year and a half has been at best frustrating and for many utterly devastating for most people, one positive is that it’s seen musicians and bands dig deep to innovate new ways to promote their music and engage with listeners.
Italian heavy post-rock trio Ikitan, who released their debut EP, ‘Twenty-Twenty’ (consisting of one 20-minute-20-second instrumental song) in November of 2020 clearly couldn’t take the EP out on the road – in fact, they’d not got as far as performing a single live show – so decided to perform their EP live for the first time with the ultimate social distancing by lugging their gear up a mountain to film themselves doing it. Forte Geremia, is on the outskirts of Genoa, Italy, and it’s a pretty spectacular landscape. It’s a fitting backdrop to their music, which is ambitious, and truly vast in its scope and sonic range.
What they band have achieved here is no small feat. They don’t exactly have the simplest of setups – this isn’t like slinging an acoustic guitar over your shoulder and strumming away wherever. Ikitan aren’t a busking band. The opening shots show the band setting up, unpacking drums, guitars, amps… there’s even a drum riser and a guitar effects rack the size of a single bed. And they actually power all this gear, too, while filming from multiple angles. And it looks and sounds absolutely bloody amazing.
This is immense, expansive music – post-rock with heft, big, chunky riffs, and ‘Twenty-Twenty’ is a magnificently considered succession of meandering passages with airy guitar lines that swoop and soar, punctuated by some absolutely ripping crescendos driven by dense power chords and thunderous drumming. The bass is technical and precise, and this sounds better than many bands’ studio recordings – it’s not only well-recorded and mastered, but the performance is stunning. It’s a unique and memorable live debut, and quite likely a career-landmark for the band. The next one might not have the scenery, but in front of a real live audience, it will be a new pinnacle.
