Review: Todd Terje, Motion

Simple Things always raises the bar when it comes to putting on high quality immersive Bristol events, and I was certainly intrigued to see what they would deliver tonight with a one off live show from Oslo based producer Todd Terje.

Known for his retro-futuristic disco sounds, I was an instant fan when I first heard his 2014 debut ‘It’s About Time’, an album I welcomed with open arms into my music collection and immediately developed a soft spot for. On what was a particularly cold wintry evening in February, I was ready to hit up the dance floor for some brightening up. 

Terje made an understated, low key entrance into the main room of Motion, while the dance floor – packed to the rafters with revellers – roared in anticipation for his first tune to drop. I was hoping to see Terje joined on stage by his full band ‘The Olsens’, but this time around he opted for an uncomplicated set up featuring his Stage 2 Nord keyboard and laptop, while a hypnotic light and laser show amped up the euphoria in the room.

Starting with a bang and weaving between moments of acid house, disco edits galore and tougher house and techno selections, Terje certainly provided plenty of hands in the air moments. He effortlessly took the crowd on a journey through acid bass driven rhythms, soaring sirens and fluttering arpeggio solos played live on his synth, which to my surprise was perhaps one of the only live aspects of the show.

Dropping references to Donna Summer’s ‘Bad Girls’ and Stevie Nicks’ ‘Stand Back’, it was pleasing to hear the set laden with vocal samples the crowd could sing and sway to at the top of their voices in a hysterical power ballad affair. Some tracks in the set almost felt reminiscent of a 1960’s psychedelic movie soundtrack. Revellers applauded in blissful response to tunes from his album including ‘Delorean Dynamite’, ‘Eurodans’ and the killer dance track everyone was waiting for, ‘Inspector Norse’.

However, the biggest reaction of the night came from a sexy disco edit of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’, which prompted the whole room to dance uncontrollably in pure ecstasy. Terje immediately made it feel like one of those six-in-the-morning moments when the DJ drops an absolute banger and everyone goes wild.

Tonight Todd Terje proved that he is not only an exceptional producer but also very capable of pulling off a great live set. He ticked the boxes when it came to high energy tune selections, sing along moments and the ability to make people feel as though they are drenched in sunshine. My only criticism is that I would have loved to have seen him backed by his band; would having live instrumentation behind him inject more spice into the live show? I was left wondering how this might bring about a whole new experimental sound.