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Red Snapper: Their Aim Was To Satisfy

Their departure from the music scene, marks a low point in live "dance" music.
05 januari 2002, Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)

Tekst: Sven Schlijper

Publicatiedatum: 09 januari 2002

"All good things must end"; MC Det sighs backstage at the Paradiso after Red Snapper has just played the last gig ever. Although his words were designated to describe a failed attempt to chat up a lady, these seem quite fitting at the end of this evening. Red Snapper ended an 8-year career with a smashing show in true Red Snapper style. The band formed by drumwonder Richard Thair set out to play groovy music with lots of elements from drum-n-bass and techno with real instruments. In this style of music this masterplan is far from usual. Adding Ali Friend's upright bass and David Ayers guitars to the drum the bands sound always stood out remarkingly. With the help of a samplist/keyboardist and of course the vocal contributions of MC Det the band managed to attract quite a following in Holland. Especially after moving large audiences at the 1999 Pinkpop and 2000 Lowlands Festivals, Red Snapper was well established as an exciting, new and original act capable of delivering a steaming dance vibe one moment, as well as an nearly ambient laid-back mood at other times.
With the swansong effort of an EP to be released this March on an independent label, Red Snapper parted from the stage in a 90+ minutes set in Amsterdam. The Dutch audience was treated to this last show because of the superb crowd reaction Red Snapper always received in the Netherlands, so the band said.
At around half past ten Red Snapper opened their last set with the opening song of the actual debut album "Prince Blimey" called "Crusoe". Immediately the Paradiso was taken over by this typical Snapper virus. People dancing, people nodding their heads to the beat, people immersed in introspection slowly moving with their eyes closed; it's all possible at a Red Snapper show. Poking some fire into the start of the set, MC Det took the stage for his rap on the second track: "The Sleepless".
After this well known opening Red Snapper launched into "Sally", strangely enough a new song. This song proved to be the start of a long and mesmerizing journey through the highs and lows of the Snapper landscape. An audience member described this section as being overlong as MC Det was apparently missed dearly in these songs. However, Red Snapper played some of their best songs of the show during this half-hour. Most notably the alternation between the uptempo typical drum-n-bass and ambient like soundscape kept the performance in the balance. One thing that became obvious was Red Snappers jammy mood this evening as the tracks got the chance to gradually build to a thunderous climax in the elaborate arrangements. At the same time, this proved to be the biggest flaw of the show. With every song following the same pattern from slow and mellow start into a thickening of the sound halfway through to a dramatic eruption of dance frenzy at the end, the uniformity of the repertoire and melodies was all too apparent. One of the highlights was "Belladonna" featuring amazing guitar playing by David. This track was the low-key upbeat to the trilogy of tracks from the "Our Aim is to Satisfy" album ("Keeping Pigs Together", "Don't Go Nowhere" and "The Rake"). This moment also marked the return to the stage of MC Det, much to the delight of a large part of the audience. "Like a Moving Truck", the epic Snapper classic closed the set. Rather quickly the band returned for the encore featuring another new track, the last song they'd ever play, called " Dribbler".
Personally I would have liked them to bring along a female vocalist too to perform a personal favorite: "Image of You", but honestly all in all Red Snapper played a smashing final show at Paradiso.
The departure of Red Snapper from the music scene, at least as a live band, marks a low point in the development of original "dance" music played live. According to Ali and David the bands breakup is not because of personal or musical differences, but because they were unable to secure a record deal for the next album. It is almost unimaginable that a label like Warp Records would not sign Red Snapper for another record, or that some other label would be unwilling or unable to sign them. In it for the music, the vibe and original in this style, dominated by epigonism and computer generated "music" the courageous effort made by Red Snapper in their 8-year career deserves the highest respect. Their aim was to satisfy. They certainly did and they will be missed. Maybe, one day, they will get the truck moving again. Until that day a wonderful memory remains.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/live/red-snapper/red-snapper-their-aim-was-to-satisfy/993/
Meer Red Snapper op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/red-snapper