As a trailblazer in the field and a posterboy to the new electronic movement, Peder Losnegård is far beyond needing introduction. Abandoning previous musical incarnations, Lido emerged as a preeminent producer a few years back, co-creating Halsey’s Badlands LP and touring around the country in support of his own works. While also gaining some notoriety for credits on works with Chance the Rapper, Alison Wonderland, and Banks, his star continued to grow brighter by the month. Over the course of 2016, Lido has made major headway in cementing his place among the dominant producers of the era – along with the likes of Flume, Hudson Mohawke, Cashmere Cat, and Jack Garratt.
In beginning his path across the continent with a November 2nd show in San Francisco, Lido retreads ground and revisits a city that vividly remembers his talent shining through during an early 2015 performance at the Rickshaw Stop. This time around, Lido has managed to improve his live setup in every way possible; more ambitious technical instruments, more dazzling light displays, and more prestigious venues (such as the Herbst Theater here in San Francisco, or the Apollo in New York).
Here in San Francisco, Lido’s showmanship cannot be denied. Both set and setting were key in creating such a powerful and moving performance. While the audience attempted to process the grandeur and taking in the wide, cavernous space that is Herbst Theater, his stylization and off-the-cuff, unpredictable tunes will stand out among the best performances of the year. Lending itself to the venue choice, the entire show could be described as a three act performance.
First, a nearly uninterrupted performance of Everything satiated the crowd with new material. The second act blended the end of Everything with a lengthy piano solo ballad, twisting and turning with a raw emotion unseen in previous iterations of electronic music. The last act was a return to Lido’s previous works and much of this section had the crowd in a frenzy.
With a much more elaborate and spacious set up than contemporary showman Garratt, Lido was a one-man band with an electronic drum and synthesizer station on the far left, a grand piano set in the center and an intricate multi level drumkit on the far right. as if this were not a dramatic enough set up already, both side stations were framed directly behind thinly veiled tapestries – enough to notice, but not enough to block the audience’s view. As the show gained momentum, it became clear that these would-be distractions were to play a major role in the show, as they acted as a reflector to the intense strobe lights and also hosted a very special, albeit, digital guest in Jaden Smith.
Lido’s music stands out in a crowded and ever-growing field in that his style is so organic, dynamic and seemingly unscripted and original. While some of his tracks contain nearly no “mainstream” arrangements, the songs contain a powerful emotion and convey a feeling that they come from a personal place of vulnerability with Lido. This statement is no more true than on the closing track of Everything and of Act 1, his live rendition of “Tell Me How to Feel”.
Without hesitation, the most powerful episode of Lido’s performance was a drawn out, 10-minute serenade that spawned from the Jaden/Lido song “Only One”. While as a recorded work, Everything gives off the impression of a concept album, the live performance took that notion and redefined it. In ad-libbing, riffing, and giving new emotion to each song, Lido gave Everything a new, personal meaning to each person in attendance that night. His departure from the recorded versions of “Crazy” “Dye” and “Murder” particularly stand out as praiseworthy parts of Act 1. Lido moved from set to set on the stage with a frenetic pace while also not seeming rushed between bars.
In an appeal to fans of all varieties, Lido saved his most familiar tracks for the end of the show. Much to the delight of all in attendance this included “Lost”, his remix to Zhu’s “Faded”, and “Money”. Just as we thought he had played every card in the deck, Lido surprised a packed house with his slow burning minimix ode to Kanye West, “Life of Peder”.
Fans of Lido have a few more opportunities to catch the breathtaking performance this winter; he’ll be in Boston on November 11, New York in November 12, Toronto on the 16th and ending his tour with a November 18th show at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago. Tickets can be found on his website here.
