Laura Holt of NC Magazine interview with Two Spot Gobi.
In a year that saw the charts characterised by androgynous men in cardigans and skinny jeans, Two Spot Gobi have appeared with trumpets blaring and soothing melodious lyrics to impose themselves on the Brighton music scene and offer our ears a refreshing alternative. As bands like The Kooks and The Arctic Monkies rose to notoriety, shying away from media attention as they went, Gobi have meticulously planned their success with business- like precision, accumulating a fan base from MySpace and distributing EPs across the country from their own bedrooms. Unsigned and unassuming, they stand as an illuminating insight into the harsh realities of the music industry.
"At the begining we had interest from big industry, lots of interest", the band's signature Cellist explains, "and we had all the parties, celebrated, and thought we'd made it. And then ten months down the line....", they all laugh. "We've realized now that you've just got to be a lot more blazé about it, and not get derailed when something comes along. We've got people interested at the moment, but there's no point in talking about it because by the time this article gets published, it'll probably have come to nothing and we'll be working in Budgens, feeling like idiots". This self-deprecating, pragmatic sense of humour is the source of a seemingly never-ending flow of banter which reverberates through the group. Encouraged by it I ask them 'who the lousiest drunk is?'. "We don't really drink after gigs" is their response. "We have to drive home afterwards, so we're possibly the least rock 'n' roll band ever. I think if you were out there getting pissed every night and sleeping with hookers, you wouldn't get anything done"...."we're probably a bit too serious perhaps" the quiet and collected Bassist cuts in, "but we see it as a business, a job, which is what it really is when all the lights go off...it just happens to be one of the things we love doing".
So. No alcohol, no hookers, and lots of humility - this isn't sounding like your typical music interviews so far. And yet, when their music hits your ears, loaded with lyrical ingenuity and instrumental proficiency that reminds you of everything and nothing you ever heard before, you cannot doubt that these boys have something unique. They're anything but 'typical' in fact, as musical influences from Schubert to Clapton permeate their distinctive melodies. At their gigs you're bombarded with jazzy, soul-filled sounds which lace amongst each other, whilst people cavort around energetically singing all the words, and you feel like the only person in the world who hasn't seen this band coming. "We've been very lucky. We've never played to an empty audience and I think it's because we give people a chance to bring their own meaning to our music".
And they're right. The music is experimental in the deepest sense of the word; it smacks a smile on your face and allows your imagination to wonder from the everyday experience to a dreamscape some- where beyond. With immeasurable talent, they represent the very best of what our city has to offer, and the worst mistake the music industry has made in 2006. NC
Justin Evans of Brighton Press review o Two Spot Gobi @ Komedia Brighton 30th November 2006.
Downstairs at Komedia the venue quickly fills in anticipation. It's amazing how although so large it still becomes intimate, the tone set with it's low ceiling and compelling lighting, in this underground setting you feel as if you're in a hip hop scene in New York. It's pleasantly different, there are no long ques at the bar, there's a friendly atmosphere with banter and heckles resonating; it's set to be a good night.
Two Spot as the crowd chant, are a refreshing 6 piece Brighton band. They masterfully combine guitars, a cello, a trumpet, drums, bass and the best instrument of all, lead singer James Robinson's confident vocals.
They need make no excuses nor small talk, they roll on stage and crack on with a solid performance. They know both where they're from and where they're going. The trick they've mastered is how to sustain and deliver the substance they've in so little time conjured.
I'm naively surprised by the reaction in the crowd. I've always associated this sound with music that never leave's a lasting taste; how wrong can you get, I feel like the only person here who hasn't been an avid fan for the past year, and I probably am! I'm instantly attracted.
The atmosphere Two Spot Gobi have mustered is eccentric. I've never before witnessed at a gig such jiving as I'm seeing from this bunch tonight; at first I question "Are these shenanigans a result of anything more than student night alcohol?" I quickly learned!
Their music is upbeat and fearless, utilising a perfect combination of instruments strategically played at the most appropriate times. No instrument steals attention nor spoils, yet nothing plays unnoticed. They have a crisp and commercial sound.
"Lets Get Lost" is fantastic, played to a rapturous reception. It starts reserved yet is intriguingly catchy, and soon picks up tempo launching into an addictive chorus supported by singing contributions from the crowd. The distinct low key cello supplies a dejected baseline tone to maintain suspense during vocal intervals, and the second time the chorus comes round it feels like I already know the song well. This is quality and mature music.
It's easy to be deterred with this genre by the way lots of tracks can so easily sound too similar and merge into a set of just 'Sound', but tonight there's clear definition, each tune comprising short, sharp and varied bursts, somehow managing to retain my interest throughout.
Lead singer James acknowledges and interacts with the frenzy he and his band are responsible for; bopping from corner to corner across the stage, equally dividing his attention amongst the crowd ensuring nobody goes hungry.
Tonight was one of those gigs where by tomorrow you'll feel gutted it's been and gone and it could be some time before you'll see them again. You'll listen to their music and it'll sound positively different having witnessed them perform live, and you'll crave for more; in my book, this constitutes an outstanding band.
Reviewed 6 Dec 2006
BrightonLife.com
Review from Plymouth Evening Herald
Two Spot Gobi, The Hub, Plymouth, Saturday 18 March For one night only.
"It’s so great to be back in Plymouth! How are you
Janners?" asked Two Spot Gobi frontsman, James
Robinson, four numbers into a tight and groove-
filled, fifteen song set. This is the third time I’ve seen
the Gobi in as many months and they have upped
their game to a new plateau. They are not just
better than last time, they’re becoming seriously good.
In a musical field crowded with guitar-based indy bands, the Gobi have something refreshingly different to offer. They take their cue from Hip Hop’s urban street rhythms. But Hip Hop rhythms have mostly become so crunchingly heavy as to be laboured. And the style has ghettoised itself in a torpid anger and self-pity. In contrast the Gobi provide an infectious amalgam that marries Hip Hop beats to the language of soul. This is intelligent urban sass for the chilled-out surf generation.
Two guitars, cello, sax, bass and drums make for an intriguing line-up and the Gobi use their resources well. They do so with deftness, dazzling speed and style."That Thing" started with rapid funk guitar over a floating bass line before exploding into a sax solo. "Melodius Star" is gorgeously Latin tinged. "Hey Now" has a crazy 1930s Cab Calloway feel, while "Borrowed Time" featured Rob Lewis’s beautifully pastoral cello. In Plymouth- raised Robinson they have a great frontman with a pleasingly husky voice a fine sense of time and an ability to cram a flow of words into tight spaces and rapid stop-time breaks. And he moves well onstage. They saved the best till last, "Let’s Get Lost Tonight" a song barely a week old, which opened with gentle acoustic guitar, moved into offbeat funk and a sensitive vocal chorus before closing out with a memorably thundering riff. The Janners are doing very nicely, thank you James, as will, I predict, Two Spot Gobi.
Max Gibson