NYX provided a stunning performance in a exclusive Australian appearance at the Dark Mofo Festival. It is this kind of fare that makes this Festival so special: something quite unique and brilliant, something innovative and creative that reflects the smorgasbord of delights typically presented by Leigh Carmichael, Festival Director, in his last ever year as head chef.
In their own words:
NYX are reshaping the role of the traditional female choir, testing the limits of organic and synthetic modulation to explore the full spectrum of collective female voice as an instrument
Billed as a collaborative drone choir, the substituent elements of NYX were far more than that – keyboards, percussion, violin and guitar provided a substrata to the heavenly voices, contemplative ethereal songs that mesmerised with their aching beauty.
Set up, as a friend observed, just like a Kraftwerk gig with individual podiums for the performers, the lighting was smokey and diffuse – a nightmare for any photographer – and the members an enigmatic presence. Vocals soared into the ether, siren songs that enchanted and enthralled. Sometimes members would lie on the floor, sometimes cast their hands up into the air like priestesses casting invocations in the sky, sometime stock still in the half light.
The joy on stage was palpable – a unified vision of sonic bliss, powerful and resonant. The sound distantly ranged across the same territory as Sigur Rós: imperial, statuesque, impossibly beautiful.
The finale was a heavenly jolt – a cover of Suicide’s ‘Dream, Baby Dream’ filled with NYX’s ethereal grace and stature, creating something quite majestic and awe inspiring out of something precious.
This was billed as an entirely new live show with the world premiere this night at Dark Mofo. It was a magic and special perfomance and a privilege to witness.
