Thursday’s concert opened with an expansive set from Alien Montesin which, through its evolving and gradually coalescing musical ideas, created a rich aesthetic that wouldn’t have been out of place in a David Lynch film.

Symphonic in nature with a clear sense of structure, the set made good use of melodic and rhythmic fragments and harmonic textures which, while each on their own distinctive journey, weaved together in a rich musical collage. 

Most striking was how evocative her set was, with flashes of colour and fantastical imagery ever-present at the edge of this listener’s consciousness. A hugely enjoyable and tantalising opening to the concert.

Next up was Naqara, complementing the first offering perfectly with his rhythmically driven set which, out of all three offerings that evening, was the most club-like.

Despite his use of near-ubiquitous pulsing beats, Naqara deftly created a compelling spontaneity throughout his set, breaking preconceptions of how rhythms complement each other while creatively feeding the set’s unstoppable momentum.

Molom were as captivating as they were innovative.

His tactile interactions with a live plant were as musically effective as they were visually compelling, creating esoteric tones which married well with the more industrial, buzzing tones subtly present in the set’s driving beats.

Last to perform was headline Italian duo Molom, who were as captivating as they were innovative.

Beginning with cassette-taped quarry sounds, their set seemed to take the audience with them on a journey through the ‘life’ of a piece of Maltese limestone, which formed the centrepiece for their performance – both visually and creatively.

Perhaps most impressive was the pair’s breadth of expression when working with, at first glance, such an unyielding subject. The range of tones they extracted from the stone was impressive, and the relentless character of the sound was both powerful and insistent, lending an urgency to their set.

I enjoyed how they used stone fragments hewn from the larger piece – drilled to produce powerful drones and dropped to create decorative rhythmic fragments.

In all, this first Sustain-Delay concert was a welcome breath of fresh air.

The series continues until October; don’t miss it.