Sitting down on stage isn't typical of rock bands, but Buke & Gase is neither typical nor really a rock band. Watching Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez perform feels more like witnessing a divination, as two solemn figures huddle over strange objects, stomp their feet and chant with an intense and eerie focus. Their band was the outlier at this NPR Music-sponsored concert — recorded live Wednesday at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City during the week of the CMJ Music Marathon — as the only act to play all live instruments (the eponymous baritone ukulele and hybrid guitar-bass, plus a smattering of foot percussion) and doing anything that could credibly be called singing.
Still, it's clear from this set what the duo shares with its counterparts in Wednesday night's lineup, Death Grips and Flying Lotus: an arsenal of abrasive sounds and hammering beats that pulse away until their hidden subtleties emerge. When Buke & Gase had finished and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad took the stage, he asked how many bassists, guitarists and drummers were in the crowd. "They just put you out of work," he said, smirking. "Fifteen years at Juilliard, and damn."
Set List
Credits
Producers: Saidah Blount, Mito Habe-Evans, Amy Schriefer; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Christopher Farber, Christopher Parks; Hosts: Bob Boilen/NPR, John Schaefer/Soundcheck; Special Thanks: (Le) Poisson Rouge; Executive Producers: Anya Grundmann, Keith Jenkins
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