Those who live by Camille, die by Camille: Majiker/ Ebb

ICA
9 November 2009

The staging of Majiker's high concept Body-Piano-Machine (the last is a 1986-vintage synth) album was highly polished, endlessly inventive and packed full of clever ideas both musically and visually.

It would take a major essay to describe the show as so much was included, although that is not going to happen here; briefly - close up video footage was projected on screen, all kinds of lighting scenarios including wrist- and head-mounted LED's, bad jokes, telephone calls taken mid-song, a mask, role playing, hats, body paint etc. Lots of Stuff, all of it as camp as a row of tents.



Best known for producing Camille's last two albums, as well as touring as part of her live act to promote Le Fil, there is much common ground in his music with the clever body-centric techniques used for those recordings.

Majiker, however, is no singer, unlike Camille who is quite possibly the best performer I have ever seen, and more crucially the songs just aren't as good. If they were better then the whole theatrical staging would surely not be needed - the first couple of times I saw her, Camille's stage set was a simple length of string at waist height across the front of the stage. The convincingly articulated driving concept was there, but rather than becoming the defining element of the album, and performance, it underpinned the work, which could speak for itself.  Majiker seemed to need to use his concept as a crutch to support an end product that was clever and well done, but not really engaging. If you ask people to dance, as he did, and they don't, then that is surely the most telling measure.

Support act, label-mate Ebb was unfeasibly dreary; Sweden's Manifest prizes would seem to be as meaningful as the Mercury's. My heart sank every time he started another song.