Who Is That Masked Woman, Why It's the talented Martina Topley-Bird!

Who Is That Masked Woman, Why It's the talented Martina Topley-Bird!

Perhaps taking the “Rock” portion of the fest name too literally, Martina Topley-Bird paused a few tracks into her Gypsy Avalon Sunday evening set and said, “Something tells me I should play a loud song now, but I don’t have any.”  Spectators were more than content with the take of “Overcome” that originally she recorded for Tricky’s 1995 “Maxinquaye” debut that she offered up instead.Currently touring as one of Massive Attack’s guest singers, Topley-Bird’s solo set took place four hours before the much revered UK trip hop act’s Green Stage headlining appearance.  Emerging to a surprisingly small audience, she began playing keyboard but stopped briefly to adjust her microphone before properly starting “Valentine” from 2008’s “The Blue God.”

For her second selection, she recorded a live loop of her voice and the sound of a box being hit to complement her piano playing and soulful singing.  The crowd of onlookers grew for her third track, which again saw her creating a vocal loop that she sang and performed tambourine over top of.  An artist of remarkable talent, many of Topley-Bird’s songs featured minimal instrumentation making her remarkable crooning the primary focus of the music.  Cuts like “Baby Blue” came off fantastic in Gypsy Avalon’s intimate, laidback setting.  A “go with the flow” type of gal, lamenting that her percussionist was unable to join her she instead played his parts from her laptop during another track as attendees smiled at the gesture.

Photo report here.

*Photo by 船橋岳大