The audio-visual experience seems almost necessary for music today. There is a restlessness to the modern sensibilities that have resulted in people needing more than just one stimuli for committed engagement, and Cercle Odyssey seems to have found the solution.
From May 7–11, the 360° immersive installation passed through Southern California for a residency at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Five artists — namely Paul Kalkbrenner, Empire of the Sun, Moby, The Blaze and Black Coffee — took the stage across nine sets over the week.
One of the standout performances of the run in LA was Moby, who played twice on Friday, May 9. Having lived in the city for approximately 15 years, the 59-year-old was visibly in his zone throughout the set. His supporting case, it is worth noting, was just as critical to the show as he was, exhibiting instrumentation and vocals of the highest standard.
As for the optics, Cercle Odyssey had the room surrounded by giant screens to the side as well as on the ceiling. In all directions, attendees could catch glimpses of the earth’s endlessness, from the different elements of nature to close-ups of the human body in all its elegance. Though it does feel like a cop-out to put it this way, you did have to be there to understand what it was like. That isn’t to say the experience is impossible to convey in words — in fact, it was exactly what it sounds like, which is a concert amid giant screens broadcasting high-definition videos. How it felt, however, is in the eyes of the beholder.
From Respect My Region’s perspective, the entire show was an aesthetic knockout. Moby understood the assignment and played a thoughtful blend of fan favorites such as “Natural Blues,” “Porcelain,” and “Extreme Ways” while peppering in some techno and electronica tunes to satisfy his lifelong love for the rave scene. The highlight, funnily enough, was when the band came back out for a one-song encore, during which they hit it out of the park with an explosive performance of “Bodyrock.”
Next up, Cercle Odyssey will set up a residency in Paris, France. Check out the full itinerary for the concerts at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles below:
5/28 — Max Richter [Opening Act: cktrl] — 5:00 PM
5/28 — Max Richter [Opening Act: cktrl] — 9:30 PM
5/29 — Artbat [Opening Act: Alex Wann] — 9:30 PM
5/30 — NTO x Sofiane Pamart [Opening Act: cktrl] — 5:00 PM
5/30 — Monolink [Opening Act: Catching Flies] — 9:30 PM
5/31 — Bonobo [Opening Act: Sofia Kourtesis] — 5:00 PM
5/31 — Ben Böhmer [Opening Act: Weval] — 9:30 PM
6/1 — Monolink [Opening Act: Two Lanes] — 5:00 PM
6/1 — Ben Böhmer [Opening Act: Aaron Hibell] — 9:30 PM
Moby at Cercle Odyssey
