Zopp/Halta D, Dubrek Studios, Derby 1 February 2025

The first gig of the year for Zopp, and after the euphoria of seeing them wow the Crescendo audience outdoors on the West Coast of France, it’s back to the bread and butter of local East Midlands gigging. The Dubrek is a complex of recording studios located almost in the shadow of Derby cathedral, a bright, vibrant venue which was pretty much full to see a double header of fine local bands. The evening was promoted by Greenhouse Jam who apparently present a monthly hub for innovative improvised music at the venue. Halta D are a five piece playing upbeat instrumental jazz fusion with more than a hint of funk, performing pieces I think largely authored by guitarist Richard Belfitt, underpinned by a warm bass groove, textural drumming and plenty of nuance from the other two band members, one of whom flipped between the saxophone, flute and some quite wacky keyboard sounds, the other a player of quite extraordinary poise who provided enough moments of casual virtuosity for Ryan of Zopp to later admit to (somewhat unwarranted) inferiority!

Zopp had already set their stall out for the evening with a large banner backdrop and Andrea Moneta’s prog drum setup both bearing the band’s name (Andrea told us it was in fact his smaller kit, but it still seemed to straddle the stage), and it struck me that after seeing their exploratory debut gig at the Sumac as well as their French exploits, that we were likely to see an extended set. And so it proved: those lured to see the band for the first time having only heard their two studio releases to date (and one audience member appeared to have travelled from South Korea), would have been treated to pretty much half an album of new material, as Ryan Stevenson continues to tweak a couple of extended unreleased tracks: the driving opener ‘Intuition Made It’ plus ‘Living Man’ (which includes a new section entitled ‘Endless Decrees’ – ‘it’s about 16 minutes long but don’t tell anyone!’, quoth Ryan).

‘Living Man’, as one would expect in any self-respecting prog epic, manages to incorporate the full gamut of styles: of screaming keyboards, grandiose stretched out sections, and elements of tranquil ambience – the band were joined tonight throughout on saxophone by Myles Noble, who was also the evening’s compere (and promoter?). Noble’s slightly larger than life appearance, in green boiler suit, and presence as compere (and promoter?) belied a real sense of sensitivity to the music – he subtly adds an extra dimension to band’s sound in a way I wasn’t expecting.

The band raced through an extensive repertoire, with almost imperceptible refinements to familiar favourites: the spellbinding ‘You’ seems to have added a new bass part from Ashley Raynor, with Noble and guitarist Richard Lucas also inheriting a subtly different unison line towards the piece’s conclusion. The improvised section in the Uppmarksamler/Perspectiw track seems to stretch out more evocatively on each hearing, and the band provided their usual rousing versions of ‘Before The Light’ and the somewhat trippier ‘V’. The one surprise was the performance of ‘Being and Time’ from the first Zopp album, and if there was an advance apology for its melancholic nature, it was unnecessary, with Lucas eking out some fine most Phil Miller-like statements of melancholy.

The stage setup was slightly different to previous gigs: Stevenson was off stage right somewhat in the gloom, reflective perhaps of him wanting a slightly lower profile after admitting to losing his voice the previous day (it bore up well regardless). And strangely enough, the band’s trademark saturated Dave Stewartesque keyboard sound seemed to follow suit, its magnificence only fully audible during moments of isolation. Visually the stage was dominated by Moneta’s compelling drumming: my two previous Zopp gigs have seen him somewhat obscured by other band members from my particular vantage point and it was nice to see him stretch out fully.

Ryan told me later that there is a full 50 minutes or so of the third album pretty much ready to go, and this, alongside news of a number of upcoming gigs, both locally and at the Gouveia festival in Portugal has to be one of the best reasons to look forward to 2025 unfolding.