Entertainment

Gig of the week: Marc Collin's Bristol at The Black Box, Belfast, Saturday January 15

Bristol play The Black Box tomorrow night
Bristol play The Black Box tomorrow night Bristol play The Black Box tomorrow night

HERE'S an odd one: French producer and musician Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague fame has put together a band specialising in 60s-style soul/r'n'b interpretations of songs by 90s trip-hop acts like Portishead, Massive Attack and Tricky.

Bristol is their name and, er, Bristol is their game, what with it being the trip-hop capital of the universe and all.

Released last year, the band's self-titled debut LP featured a collection of trip-hop covers including Portishead's Roads, Overcome by Tricky, Morcheeba's Moog Island and Safe From Harm by Massive Attack given a pleasingly noirish, John Barry-informed live beat group spin, transforming the genre's trademark downbeat narcoleptic sound into something groovy enough to actually dance to.

Clearly something of an obsessive, Collin is also currently working on a documentary on the genre called The Bristol Wave, with an exhibition to follow.

Tomorrow evening's show will find he and his band cranking up their live trip-hop jukebox for your pleasure.

An essential night out for genre lovers and probably still quite a lot of fun even if you spent the 90s listening to anything but 'the Bristol sound' – just pretend they're all original songs by a hip new band of retro-styled Frenchies.

:: Tickets £10 via Cqaf.com