BROOKLYN, NY- Brooklyn Steel in Greenpoint, BK turned into Little France when French duo Polo & Pan took over the 1,800 capacity concert hall. I felt as if I was magically transported to Europe when I stepped inside the venue. French was spoken by the majority of attendees, and chic European fashion was on full display, which created a unique feel to the night from the get go. I wasn’t sure what to expect the rest of the night, but I was definitely excited.
Paul Armand-Delille (Polo) and Alexandre Grynszpan (Pan) formed the electronic duo in 2013 when they first began to collaborate. Since then, they’ve released several EP’s as well as their first full-length album “Caravelle.” Back for only the second time in NYC, Polo & Pan impressively managed to sell out their show.
Starting with a brief thank you to the fans and Brooklyn, Polo & Pan got to “work” once they hit the stage a little after 10 o’clock. The music began playing and I was suddenly enchanted by the symphony of various sounds and instruments that they mixed together. Everything from xylophones to violin strums were used to build up to a song’s climax when a deep bass line came in and overlapped the instrumental samples. While their own vocals are not on display much throughout their songs, Armand-Dilille did whip out the microphone to sing a short verse in a very smooth tone, as only the French can. Additionally, contributing to their performance was a saxophonist who also happened to play the flute, both quite beautifully. He was charismatic and precise which I thought really added to the overall performance.
Polo & Pan played the majority of “Caravelle” which takes a musical journey throughout the world in a myriad of ways. You can hear Middle Eastern, south Asian, even African influences throughout their songs despite the heavy electronic roots. The music flows from soothing and carefree rhythms into profound bass beats that force your body to dance. In fact, the crowd was dancing all evening long; be it in groups or couples, everyone was in their own world enjoying themselves.
What really stood out while watching and listening to the show was how in sync Polo & Pan were throughout their set. They worked seamlessly together along the expansive DJ soundboards, often crossing in front of each other’s arms to hit the right button and turn the proper knob. I loved seeing smiling and dancing as they played, showing us how much fun they were having.
I highly enjoyed seeing Polo & Pan live and I’m pretty sure so did the entire sold out crowd that night. Exotic sounds with electronic beats make for a great pairing, almost as well as one between the two joyful Frenchmen.
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