Griot is the Burkinabé tradition of telling stories through songs. Kaito Winse, the vocalist/frontman of Avalanche Kaito, is no different from a bard. They played at the Creative Arts Development Space on Arley Street, a strange venue in a way. It was intimate yet sprawling. Empty, yet full. And whilst there weren’t masses to witness what was to come, those present were certainly passionate. Somewhere between a Crookes living room and a dive bar, you can’t help but feel at home on the venue’s plush couches, before taking a step towards the stage.
There were two opening acts with the first – Hekla Fell – playing solo. His set of industrial, grating instrumental dance music had a tendency to build up and fall away, and reminded me of Aphex Twin. Something out of Warp Records’ repertoire, the crowd applauded him before he finished, Fell smiled, knowing he hadn’t actually finished. His music sounded like the detritus of a false future, with the audience invited to take a step into it. Music isn’t often a portal – his was.
Shortly after Fell actually finished and departed the stage, two empty gas cylinders and a shattered cymbal were brought on. They were followed by a rickety disc suspended from an ancient looking stand. These were the instruments of Prangers, the second opening act (and the onomatopoeia is not lost on me).
A three-piece outfit from Rochdale, their music misled me at first. Fierce intros of musique concrète (sounds of the street as instruments) and recorded sounds were followed by striking the gas cylinders with drumsticks and playing what can only be described as rage music. Some tracks had lyrics, but I thought that their music should have been allowed to speak for itself. Whilst I understand the artistic urge to convey a message, some lines listened as shallow and unoriginal. But, Norwegian journalist Mari Myren once said that music is bigger than words and wider than pictures, that seems relevant here.
Avalanche Kaito did not need to climb any mountains to outdo what preceded them, but they did anyway. I could call them a punk rock band, but they’re really not. When Kaito Winse began singing in the middle of the crowd, everyone turned around. When he got on stage, everyone cheered – he commanded that room.
Band members, Nico Gitto and Benjamin Chaval, are savants of their instruments, and this was something new, something brilliant, and something worth seeing performed to an older audience who think they’ve seen it all. This is a band whose greatest strength is their ability to produce and perform with visceral emotion.
Winse’s lyrics bounce effortlessly between French, Mooré, Samo, and Fulani. Whilst you and I probably don’t speak all of those, certain performers can turn anything into a lingua franca. When a singer cries, it tells you everything, and Kaito Winse is storytelling. He’s telling the audience all the pains, ills and brilliances he has witnessed. There were heavy themes of hunger and starvation in certain songs, whilst the medieval-esque music felt wonderfully out of place in the modern day, transporting the audience elsewhere.
Between tears, and dancing the robot, Winse highlighted his impressive showmanship. He pointed at the crowd and told us to chant ‘Lago’. He smiled, ran up to the front, told us to dance and to come closer. Whilst beckoning a crowd is nothing new, his impressive presence was something I haven’t really seen in a performance before. People write of classic great artists and their commandment on stage, like Elvis and the Beatles, but to see such a visionary in such an intimate setting was a wonder.
Overall, I went expecting a cookie-cutter punk rock gig with a little bit of brilliance, but walked away seeing much more. Take stock of the praising reviews you read online, Avalanche Kaito is worth seeing. Though, between the continent and our rainy island, it might be hard to, so catch them if you can.
7/10
Featured image via Sheffield Performance Venues
