Taiko and Electronica - quite enough for one day, surely?

The fundamental difference between Ben Frost's By The Throat Live and Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers is not merely one of instrumentation but of intention. Taiko may come from an ancient Japanese tradition - the respect shown for the teacher and the ritualistic movements of the drummers reflect music that evolved in a specific cultural and religious context - but Mugenkyo filter it through a determinedly rock'n'roll perspective. Their camouflage costumes, complete with punky functionless zips, the emphatic shaking of hair, the restless chasing between drums, the cheeky, competitive interlude when three male performers demonstrate that size does matter not only show off the drummers' skills but transform the formal presentation of an art into an improvising, melodramatic spectacle.

That founder Neil Mackie was originally a kit drummer is evident in the ethos of the company: the drum is not a framing device for a ritual, but the point and purpose of the performance. Mugenkyo are known as passionate evangelicals for Taiko - they have a school and describe their style as European Taiko - and are always collaborating, not least with the Scottish Jazz Orchestra: their shows focus on the rhythmic energy of the drum, and emphasise the joy and fun of hitting skin with sticks.

By The Throat Live is harder to explain: the concert environment drains the music of the cinematic force of the recorded version, and Frost's own presence is, at times, tangential to the atmosphere. There's a chance for Frost to reconsider the material - the gig is more of a reworking than a straight performance - but, unlike Mugenkyo, he is not trying to introduce an audience to the pleasures of his medium. Rather, there is no celebration, rather an acknowledgement of the music's moody tempers. Flashes of percussion summon the similar energies of percussive might that are the foundation of Taiko, although they emerge from the swirling and drones of Frost's treated sounds and accompany rather than drive.

By The Throat, like Mugenkyo, is a bravura display of skill: it is also a more purely aesthetic experience. Ironically, it moves closer to ritual than the taiko, establishing a strict congregation of audience against celebrants on the stage, and evokes restrained approval rather than spontaneous cheers.