De/Vision
Redux/Vaughan George/Greenhaus
Downstairs at The Dome, London - 7 September 2025
"Setting
an incredibly high creative standard"
This was an
unusual and curious lineup even for those well-steeped in the UK
alternative live scene. Coming courtesy of Stigmata (formerly Flag
Promotions), tonight's acts promised an eclectic night of versions,
interpretations, and collaborations.
I'd already
purchased my ticket before the legendary Greenhaus
were announced as the opening art for the London date only of this 3
city UK tour for headliners De/Vision. So as a fan since the
inaugural days of seeing Steve Bellamy's electronica project live back in 2000 this was not only the icing on
the cake for me but effectively two gigs for the price of one; as
whenever Greenhaus play live in London I'm there.
As if that
wasn't a big enough unexpected bonus, I then discovered that the
also legendary David Baker of Mute Records acts I Start Counting,
Fortran 5 and Komputer (each in partnership with Simon Leonard) and
more recently his solo project lonelyklown, was joining them live on
lead vocals. This on account of Baker co-writing several songs for
the new album Weightless. Donning my green Greenhaus T-shirt
from the mid 00s, I was probably one of only a handful of fans of
the band.
Their 30
minute set was the first live outing for a good selection of tracks
from their latest release. Baker's voice has always had a
distinctive London drawl to it and it perfectly suited the tracks
featuring vocals. Age has given it a gravel boost resulting in a
magical pairing of Baker’s voice and the band's compositions. With
Ian Medany's tight bass and Warren Farr's motorik drumming sounding
tighter and crisper than ever working their magic throughout the set
this was as good as opening acts can possibly get. If it had been
just Greenhaus on the bill tonight I'd have gotten my money's worth.
Fantastic.
Setlist: Solstice,
Haze, Sunset, Ride, Trigger, 1974, Submerge, I Can't Escape From
Saturday, The Sky's In Love With You
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Photos: Greenhaus x 3
Next up was
Vaughan George's ‘piano
interpretations of Depeche Mode songs’. I first stumbled upon
George a couple of years ago when the YouTube algorithm suggested
I might like his channel. What little I sampled largely appeared
to be him critiquing Depeche Mode releases, sometimes accompanied
by him playing extracts to show how songs were written. Honestly,
I was wary (and skeptical) of just how entertaining this would be.
As George painstakingly pointed out in the introduction to his
set, this was a marked change of direction both from Greenhaus he
was following and De/Vision still to come. It was just a piano
(technically a keyboard) and his voice. So kudos to him for having
the balls to perform without any form of parachute.
But not only
was the song selection superbly chosen but his versions added
enough personalisation and the occasional flourishing touches to
succeed almost without fail. I wasn't so taken by George's voice
but that could just be a personal thing. I noticed only one
instance of note fluffing and the effect overall was surprisingly
compelling. (Again, the song selection does all the heavy
lifting.) The only version I felt didn't work due to the change of
direction from the source material was, surprisingly, Enjoy
The Silence. However, given that at least 50% of the
audience here comprised German nationals, it's fair to say his set
went down a storm and promoter Stigmata’s bold billing paid off.
Setlist: World
Full of Nothing, The Sun & The Rainfall, Here Is The House,
Shake The Disease, Stripped, A Question of Lust , Enjoy The
Silence, But Not Tonight
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Photos: Vaughan George x 3
And so to the
headliners De/Vision Redux. For
the uninitiated, this project came about after Steffen Keth
approached (the legendary) Daniel Myer to see if he might be
interested in reviving De/Vision as a live act following fellow
founding member Thomas Adam's decision to step back from touring. A
long time admirer of De/Vision and an artist very open to
collaborations, Myer enthusiastically accepted the challenge of
utilising his particular skills at remixing and reworking and for
the opportunity to work with Keth. Thus, the Redux version of
De/Vision was created.
I have to
confess to only owning one De/Vision album (the landmark powerhouse
of songwriting and production that is Monosex), but it
remains one of my most frequently played albums and one that to this
day I can instantly hit repeat play for its entire track listing. Of
course, I'm acquainted with much more, so although tonight's setlist
only drew on that album three times, the full show was rewarding.
Steffen has barely visibly aged and his voice still sounds terrific.
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Photos:
De/Vision Redux x 3
Having only
heard a few snippets of what to expect from the Redux treatment
prior to this evening, I wasn't prepared for just how divergent
this sounds. Incredibly, and a testament to the combined skills of
Myer and Keth, not only are the new versions wildly different in
tone, they somehow manage to retain the distinctive essence of the
original compositions.
It's as if
the DNA of two different species had been combined in a lab but
the resulting double helix was a complete success. Not only stable
but an entirely fascinating and intriguing new animal in it's own
right. You see the word “Redux” applied all over the place these
days. It's often a signifier of largely superfluous and
ineffectual tweaking. But De/Vision Redux has truly laid down the
gauntlet for all would be users of the term, and setting an
incredibly high creative standard for them to attempt to follow in
the process. 9/10
Review +
Greenhaus Photos: Rob Dyer
De/Vision
Redux & Vaughan George Photos (C): plati611
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