Fennesz + Grouper + Natural Snow Buildings - St. Giles-in-the-Fields Church, London, 03...

A stones throw from the famous Denmark Street and Tin Pan Alley, the current church of St. Giles was rebuilt to a Palladian style from a pre-existing Gothic building in 1734. I'm not aware of anyone rocking out on the huge late 17th-century organ back in the day, but beyond hymns, music in a house of God may have been frowned upon up until fairly recently. Various Miles of Smiles shows take place within the building every so often, and Tuesday's show was a showcase for ambient noise music's A-list.

First up were French boy-girl drone (in a good way) duo Natural Snow Buildings. Creators of epic records such as the double album The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun and Shadow Kingdom (the latter featuring a 16-page comic about vampires), their psych-noise could make the heavens swoon; plenty of e-bow action does make for an impressive sound, albeit one that can sometimes feel like it's smothering your ears rather than caressing them. Perhaps that's helps give the music a place to soundtrack; you can imagine this being the most suitable (if not quite perfect) soundtrack to walking in a whiteout. The final minutes of the set sees singer Mehdi show off his heart-stopping falsetto, against percussive chords which act as a sweetener for anyone who wasn't taken by the 30 minute wall-of-sound beforehand.

If Natural Snow Buildings soundtrack being lost in a snowy wilderness, then Grouper - the alias of Portland, OR's Liz Harris - is the sound of being lost at sea on a life raft. Hazy bass frequencies wash over the oddly soothing subterreanean tape loops and muffled guitar figures, which makes great music for listening to in a church. Watching Harris live is a strange experience; alone on stage with music that could only come from a singular vision, having an audience in itself feels like intruding into her own world. Projections swirl hypnotically across the stained glass window behind the altar, as Harris' voice breaks through the layers of effects and proves that it is the standout instrument in her setup. The follow up to Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill will be keenly anticipated.

From the outset, Christian Fennesz's set is loud - and I mean LOUD. People sitting in the first few rows are visibly shocked by the ferocity created by one man, his guitar and a laptop. The distortion employed is similar to the sound of a lightning strike cut up into 16th notes which are looped at random. Tracks from masterworks such as Endless Summer and Black Sea aren't played as part of a traditional live performance; Fennesz is much more creative, taking elements and structures from songs before reassembling them completely to the point where the original is barely recognisable. With the mass of sound coming from the speakers, it should be noted that his actual technique is very good and this is key to elevating his music from being just another drone/noise performer into something else, where cocophony leads to epiphany.

There's two sudden rumbles from the PA, and silence ensues. Fennesz toys with his equipment, believing it to be a minor blip. Nothing happens. Silence. The audience laugh with a little discomfort as he shrugs his shoulders. Appreciative applause breaks out for him whilst roadies scuttle around, hoping for divine intervention. Alas, it doesn't come, and the lights come on, leading to a further round of sympathetic applause for the headline act. Perhaps God has His own curfew for His house, which He should consider being a bit more liberal with next time around.