AMONG the most exciting names on the bill of this year’s Are You Listening? was a returning festival favourite, and one who bridges the gap between the event’s momentous past and its urgent, up-to-the-minute present.
Dan Le Sac was part of the line-up when the festival first arrived, hammering at the door of venues around Reading, back in 2013.
Back then, Dan was in the closing stages of a musical partnership which saw him and long-term collaborator Scroobius Pip take to the stage at the likes of summer staples Bestival, Reading Festival, and Indiependence.
That project saw its own gestation right here in Reading–one of the pair’s first gigs was at South Street Arts Centre–and Milk, the venue for his set at this year’s AYL, made for hallowed ground upon which to return.
Dan says: “It’s about 20 years since I used to do gigs there– before I was even Dan Le Sac, and when Milk was known as Afroba.
“I used to promote a night called I Bet Ya with the guy who owns Milk.
“When I quit gigging, my very last show was over in Milk, with [Rhode Island rapper and activist] B Dolan, back in 2016.
“So it’s nice to be back.”
Especially, he explains, as the event’s organisers champion Reading, not only as a place to host exciting, external artists, but also as fertile ground for home-grown talent.
“The people who run it all are Reading locals, and it can be a very hard town to put gigs together in.
“It’s so close to London, to Oxford, but AYL has always managed to walk that line between new exciting acts, local names, and also bringing bigger names into town, so it’s great to be a part of it.
“The student population, the freshers especially, have suddenly realised there’s tons of venues, really viable venues for decent gigs.”
As well as the significance of Dan’s return for the festival, the gig also held some personal import.
“My wife is going to see me perform for the first time, since we met just as my work with Scroobius Pip was coming to an end.
“So she’s coming over from America to see me gig.
“And [fellow AYL performer, rapper] Murkage Dave has a song called David– our cat’s called David, so we’ve been sharing that song between us.
“So I’m gonna be dragging my kit across town to Face Bar to see him.
“These days, I love to go and see a few of the fellow performers at a festival like this, but also see some old friends.
“Like Nathan Fake–who played last year’s AYL–I’ve known for 20-odd years, Joshua Idehen, who I’ve known since before the Dan and Pip days; he used to do spoken word stuff with Pip.
“It’s always a nice opportunity to catch up with people, but then sometimes you’ve got to get in, perform, and get out.”
The festival also represented a rare chance to see Dan performing; his focus has shifted away from live performance and towards production.
“I wish it was more of a return–to be a touring artist needs much more of a machine around you: radio play, all those extra things that keep the momentum.
“I’d love to tour, and do the full thing, but I’m not on that radar any more.
“If I can do a few gigs here and there and have some fun with it, I’ll do it, but it’s not in my tea leaves, unfortunately.”
In the interstices since stepping down from full-time live performance, Dan has composed a number of videogame soundtracks for the likes of Disney, as well as indie titles, including in the Tron franchise, and Arcsmith.
However his tentative return to sporadic live shows has borne a new album, Anti Slop Social Club, which dropped just this month.
“I took a bunch of stuff I’ve been working on, and instead of finishing them up in the studio, I brought them to where they were as I performed them.
“The effects units, the twiddling of knobs–and that’s the record.”
His set at Milk saw him play the album in full, meaning the gig was not only a reflection on the final days of a previous era, but also a joyous celebration of Dan’s continued output.
The likes of Are You Listening? show that Reading has a cultural vitality, and one which we fail to celebrate at out own risk.
The festival itself–to which Dan’s triumphant set was testament–remains a fervent howl, calling back not only to the talent which the town has always fostered, and continues to do so, but also to its status as a cultural fulcrum for artists further afield.
Anti Slop Social Club is available on streaming services, and to buy over at: danlesac.bandcamp.com
