Festival Review: Django Django - Meltdown Festival - Southbank Centre, London 09/06/2023
The experimental rock quartet, Django Django, were a headline act at the festival “Meltdown”, curated this year by Christine & The Queens - and it was an explosion of colour and sound.
The first thing I noticed when I entered the festival, prepared for new musical loves like support act Girl Ray, and legendary, Django Django, is how intimate the gig was. The festival was seated but neither act had a problem, instead actively encouraged, the audience to stand up and have dance. The first act, Girl Ray, have been on the music scene since 2017 and have had two albums since. This year they have been releasing singles in anticipation of their third album,Prestige, which will be released on 4th August. The girls lit up the stage with their songs, old and new, with soft lighting and Poppy Hankin’s smooth, contralto voice filled up the room effortlessly.
Girl Ray were a perfect prelude to Django Django’s upcoming performance, getting us prepared with fun bass riffs which exuded an almost tropical, summery atmosphere in the enclosed arena. After an interval, the lights turned an electric blue, and the eccentric foursome greeted us. The frontman, Vincent Neff, explained that the band had not performed in London for 5 years, and were privileged to be a part of Christine and the Queens’ rendition of this year's Meltdown festival.
The band were ready to get the crowd transfixed by their synthesised cornucopia of noise, starting with “Spirals”, a popular track from Glowing In The Dark (2021). This was the perfect choice to induct us into their world for an hour and a half, as they showcased their use of colour to reflect their art, and left us breathless after 5 minutes of astute chaos.
The band then swept us away to their 2018 album Marble Skies, with the seemingly crowd-favourite song “Tic Tac Toe”. The audience started to stand and let loose to this track, and it was pleasing to see that the crowd was a flurry of different ages, showing the bands diversity and far-reach. The next highlight was the choice to play “First Light” and then “Hail Bop”, both fan favourite electro-indie tracks of the 2010s. The crowd were utterly overjoyed by this choice, and you could see that the band still enjoyed playing these tracks after all these years. This was shown by their attentiveness to each other, with Neff often jumping up to collaborate with his fellow bandmates, and it was lovely to be a part of.
Another highlight was the band’s live debut of “Come Down”, from their new album Off Planet (2023). It was a treat to see their new material in such an intimate venue, the Southbank Centre’s acoustics are optimal for bands such as Django Django as everything feels enhanced - I would go as far as to say the sound quality is the best I’ve ever heard at a gig. The core of the gig was a glimpse at their new material, which appears to be well-received, but the band ensured everyone was still with them by seamlessly covering “Around The World” by Daft Punk. This was perhaps a clever play by the band to honour the Christine and the Queens, and it also showed their versatility and nouse of what makes their audience tick.
Lastly, they made sure to leave the crowd with a smile on their face by playing both “Default” and “Wor”, which are fan-favourites from their self-titled debut album Django Django (2012). The audience shot up when they heard the famous chords, and the band demonstrated their ability to have us as putty in their hands.
It was a fantastic gig, and I am sure it has inspired many to check out their latest creations, if they haven’t already.
Words by Megan Budgen
Photography credit: Victor Frankowski (Provided by Southbank)
