God was an astronaut for a night at Cluj

I had the great privilege and pleasure of seeing a band live in Cluj that I only recently started to listen to, but which instantly captured my attention and who's songs fast became constants in my daily playlist. The band in question is called God Is an Astronaut, a post-rock giant hailing from Ireland.

Part of the band during the
last song

The band plays instrumental rock music, with influences from all across the palette. The beats range from usual post rock vibes to drum'n'bass-ish, heavy metal-ish, and many other style-ish grooves, which are as precise as clockwork, and which hit with an incredibly high depth and strength. From jungle influenced ameno breaks to blazing ultra fast double bass artistry, the drums are made even more vivid by the groovy bass lines that accompany them.

To match this awesome rhythmic section, they have a killer keyboard and guitar combo, the keyboards providing mind-twisting synth backgrounds or relaxing, hypnotizing piano chords, while the guitar gives spacey, warm rhythms, which almost always end up becoming heavily effected distorted riffage.

The band as a whole sounds amazing, and seeing them communicating on stage was a pleasure in itself. On these grounds I was most impressed by how tightly the keyboard and guitar player were connected, they often had only inches between their hands, one fretting strings, the other hitting keys, and both musicians nodding in agreement on every single chord change, much like a few jazz musicians I saw. They made it look easy.

Speaking of looks, the entire visual part of the show was a fantastic complement to the music. The projected videos behind the band always matched the mood, and made the whole experience that much more immersive.

After the show, which lasted over an hour, the bands obviously tired members (small club, lack of fresh air, heavy duty instrumental work - no wonder) were very close and personal with the public. Autographs, photos, handshakes, it was very pleasant to see that they take genuine interest in their fans. The last time I saw a band being so patient and giving with their audience was at a Nile concert a few years back in Budapest.

Yours truly and Jamie Dean

I approached the keyboard player, Jamie Dean, after the show to ask about gear/synths, stuff like that, and I found a musician who takes the time to answer questions which are probably annoyingly often addressed to him, and to actually ask questions of his own. I felt blown away to find him asking me my name, and what music I try to play - very unique experience. (I will definitely post some of my post-rock-ish songs on the blog soon, I feel very ambitious after listening to this concert.)

All in all, I can only tip my hat in awe, and recommend to anyone who might read these lines to take a listen to the bands material, and if at all possible, go see them live. It is well worth it.

Hope to see them back in Transylvania as soon as possible.