On a chillier Spring night in New York City, Anders Trentemøller brought along his dark-synth wave project to Irving Plaza. The Trentemøller group has gained much attention after touring with Delta Spirit and Depeche Mode in 2014 and 2015. T.O.M and His Computer, a Danish solo act, was the opener for the night.
The opening act T.O.M and His Computer is a solo act has a lot going for it. Only equipped with his Macbook Pro and sample pads Tom was able to create drastically large dark soundscapes throughout the room. Self described via the Bandcamp as “Mixing elements as disparate as electronica, lo-fi guitars, driving beats, vocals and cinematic soundscape, this EP is a perfect example of why TOM And His Computer is tipped for big things in 2016. What maybe can be described as ‘alternative electronic music’ unfolds in different nuances.” Tom is on the same label as Trentemøller, In My Room, and shares vastly similar influences. To end his set Tom held up his beer on stage, and told the audience, “cheers until next time”.
The anticipation was growing in the room as many knew that the live show of Trentemøller was soon going to begin. The backdrop was from his latest album, Fixion. which also features vocals from Savage’s Jehnny Beth and also solo-artist Marie Fisker. In an earlier interview Trentemøller reveals some of the inspiration for this effort, “(Sinus) This song was inspired by the intro to The Shining… I think I was 14 or 15 when I first saw The Shining. I was scared to death. I’ve seen it at least 10 times since then. I like its creepiness, the fantastic performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, and the whole visual aesthetic of the movie. I really love the scene with the kid driving his toy car really late, and the sound it makes when it goes off and on the blanket. Those small details—the visual side and the soundtrack—definitely inspired me.” The coloring of the backdrop painted a picture of exactly how the set would go down. Each member of the Trentemøller crew was dressed from head to toe black clothing. The sounds were very gloomy, with vibes and bass progressions that shared similarities of Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures”. Marie Fisker flawlessly molded her vocals into the live show. With such a dark and intricate act the audience was left a lot of times fully hypnotized. Around ninety-five percent of the time Anders stayed in the back, but occasionally during his more recognized songs he would come out and jump around to get the crowd dancing once again. The jumping was the case when he played the crowd favorites “Miss You” and “Take Me Into Your Skin”. The crowd reacted and was left abuzz for a good ten minutes after the set.
The Danish groups that played in New York closed out the end of the leg in the darkest way possible. It’s unknown when the acts will play the states again, but we certainly hope it is sooner rather than later.
