Jonny Greenwood plays Junun live for the first time at the Barbican

Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur and the Rajasthan Express played Junun live for the first time at the Barbican Hall in London on Friday 11 March. musicOMH reviewed the night. Greenwood was not out front. He sat at the back, where a drummer would usually be, mostly on bass with some guitar and a large rig of effects and electronics.

They made the album early last year in a makeshift studio inside the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort in Rajasthan, with Nigel Godrich producing, and Paul Thomas Anderson filmed the sessions for a film of the same name.

Ben Tzur, the Israeli composer, led from the front, singing, playing guitar and directing the group, and took up a traditional flute for “Kalandar”. The horn players stood, as did Chugge Khan, the group's nominal frontman, on Rajasthani percussion and castanets. Two nagara drummers, a dholak drummer and two singers sat cross-legged at the sides, facing inwards.

Khan led the audience in call and response, and “Roked”, understated on the record, came near the end as a full club piece. It got the hall out of its seats.