Returning for a third year, the Live from Jodrell Bank series of day festivals returned to the Cheshire countryside for Transmission 006 and this time it was the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós' turn to take the helm. And just what more is there to ask for? The combination of the enormous 76m Lovell radio telescope that looms behind the stage couldn't be a more fitting backdrop to the otherworldly soundscapes this band somehow manage to create.
At showtime the Lovell moved from its position facing the sky and slowly moved into a position facing the audience. Meanwhile a sequence of ghostly 'space sounds' echoed through the air: the sounds of meteors burning up in the atmosphere, the radio crackle of Jupiter, the rhythmic beating of the first ever detected pulsar and other cosmic hisses. The mood was set for the band, accompanied by a small string and brass section, to bombard us all with a wall of sound. Sigur Rós opened with the restrained Yfirborð building to a quiet crescendo and leading instantly into the louder Glósóli, a piece that builds to a booming distorted end. The audience didn't dare even whisper. At times we even forgot the obligatory applause as pieces seamlessly melded into one another. Jónsi, always a man a few words, broke the sonic flow with a 'Thankyou, this is a very cool place' reminding us all that a live band was behind the sensory bombardment. As we listened we were treated to abstract visual displays behind the band and the Lovell telescope turned into a giant projection screen. A particular highlight was when the stage lighting was turned low and the Lovell telescope was transformed into a huge 76m diameter moon.
As the night went on we heard a range of pieces from across the back catalogue, a loud cheer welcoming in the chiming opening to Hoppípolla. Hoppípolla was followed by Varúð, from the previous album Valtari, that builds to one of the most beautiful progressions known, ending with the warm crystalline chants of the choir. For the encore, Brennisteinn was unleashed from the new album Kveikur, a hard-edged thumping piece. Throughout green lasers were beamed over the heads of the audience, smoke highlighting the spectacular planar lasers. Finally, Sigur Rós ended the set with Popplagið- a twelve minute epic that builds and builds into a drumming frenzy as the guitars are thrashed and Jónsi sweeps the audience away with his repetitive incantations. After such an all-encompassing sensory onslaught, the question remains: who could possibly step in and top this next year?
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