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Jonathan Coll delves into a distinct, flavourful and oddly unassuming set from Canadian electronic producer Caribou
Image by Thomas Neukum
Caribou, known behind the decks as Daphni and at the passport office as Dan Snaith, is a Canadian musician and producer of incredible repute, having released 11 studio albums since breaking through in the year 2000. His last performance as Caribou at Glasshouse (erstwhile known as The Sage) was in early 2022 and while touring 2020 album Suddenly; which is what many consider to be the project’s creative apex. Honey, his latest LP, is something altogether different. Heavy, muscular dancefloor tunes rely on Snaith’s own AI distorted vocals for their personality and flair. With a new album under the Daphni moniker set for release in February, this run of form is set to continue for a little while yet.
This December, Caribou lent heavily into this recent punchier sound, racing out of the blocks with Volume and Bowls. Though he did still find time for some old favourites, with the familiar strains of Odessa ringing round Sage One’s magnificent auditorium.
Such variation in the setlist and sound combines to give each Caribou gig a distinct flavour; with this edition being built for the dancefloor and the venue configured to fit that. It was a noticeable, and appreciated, alteration in that the majority of the ground floor seating had been removed to create space for hundreds more dancers. It was a unique feel for a show at the Glasshouse, which paid off massively by the time Caribou were tearing into Daphni covers like Waiting So Long and the gargantuan Honey, which sounded incredible being thrown around a venue so perfectly built for sound.
As you’d expect for such an unassuming character, Snaith kept his crowd work to a minimum, breaking only to thank the crowd for turning out and saying just how much this meant to him. Can’t Do Without You was a comforting closing track and ones that ties each of these deeply individual experiences together. An astonishing musician with a storied back catalogue, hopefully his sojourns to Gateshead can continue to be a regular occurrence.
