With a discography that is all of 12 minutes long, it’s hard to anticipate what a full-length live show would be like for the noise techno solo project of Alan Duggan-Borges’, The Null Club. Performing in a modest venue in Elephant and Castle, London, Corsica Studios stands as an intimate immersive experience for fans of the new pursuits from the guitarist of Gilla Band.

A very small venue, the stage nearly occupies half the size of floor space of the room it’s occupying. Null Club’s setup is extensive and almost intimidating; as soon as the show started, it was immediate submersion into an experience with really no idea where it could go. There were stacks upon stacks of amps, synths and keyboards, a laptop setup, and a number of pedals and buttons scattered on the floor, not to mention the abundance of wires. The fact that Duggan-Borges knew where everything was and could find his own hand in front of him to plug and unplug things was amazing. The screen flashed with undulating shapes and digital lines, static and pulsing with the beat. It almost felt like a contemporary art piece, watching him busily at work, pressing buttons and plugging and unplugging things, hitting buttons, and slamming on keyboards, the copious amps responding in kind to his fingertips.

It was interesting to watch him in the process of curation while also experiencing it so immensely. There was no space for sliding into anticipatory routine, and everyone seemed really interested in the watching, while also getting excited about the heavy techno dance beats. Not to mention the kind of bass that nearly shakes the flesh off your skeleton.

On occasion, after setting up a satisfying, grimy beat with sufficient industrial noise and some tasteful samples he would engage with, he would take to the electric guitar that had been up til then lying limply on his back, and just absolutely abuse it, infusing a more directly personal touch to the collage of sound he was producing.

Alan himself also showed up in a neat button-down and slacks, standing there among this mass of noise and chaos as if he was going to a nine to five. It felt very stark and an interesting contrast between industrial and sterilized, corporate and underground. All in all, the show was incredible; it felt very interactive, almost, and raw, witnessing not just the actions but the thought process and preparations as well. While it all feels chaotic and noisy, it’s also controlled; the chaos is sampled, looped, and patterned. It’s anticipatory and also sporadic like dance music is, but just much more industrial and cathartic.

Words and photos by Sydney Peterson

order Tickets for The Null Club HERE