Live Review: Naik

Dedicated punters lined the footpath outside The Bird to get a taste of Naik performing tracks from his new EP Mutating Machines. Utilising songs that didn't make the final cut of his forthcoming album, Naik (aka Sam Price) ingeniously didn't let them go to waste by creating a free EP for download and sending it off with a live set.

Switching between two electric guitars Naik and his drummer started out at a solid pace treading out sonorous beats, heavy bass, stomping drums and high-pitched guitar screams. Like the vertigo-inspired visuals on the wall behind, the beats rose to a dizzying crescendo of sound, resonating back and forth across the room only to seep back into a hip hop-like haze and start their steady build up again. With many a head nodding in time to the beats and throngs of people squeezing back and forth from one room to another, the set was over all too soon; much to the dismay of a few rowdy members of the audience who were sloshing beers around in an act of interpretive rhythm.

Supporting Naik were dub aficionados The Weapon Is Sound playing a minimal set as they were paired back to five members from the usual eight. This didn't dampen the crowd, however, who proved to the band, that their slow psychedelic swagger was all that was needed to create a great set. Drifting off into mellow moments of echoey dub stylings the missing horn section made for a more progressive, heavy '70s sound, topped off by some Hendrix shenanigans when vocalist/lead guitarist Tayo Snowball played the guitar with his teeth.  Taking over from Naik ex-drummer Lowaski, The Weapon Is Sound interspersed these warped out moments with sudden surges of reggae rifts backed by Snowball's melodious vocals. 

Starting the dance floor with his hypnotic rhythms and thought provoking melodies Lowaski's lush sounds brought the crowd up to the stage and started everyone moving.  From shimmering synths to deep buzzing, bass, he spent the set travelling from one dimension to another with sci-fi rich sounds, which followed on aptly from Leon Osbourne's chilled-out set. Creating a bed of ambient textures, Leon Osbourne's organic and airy sounds harmonised with rolling hi-hats and odd time signatures.  Smooth vocals and soft electronic tones gave off a relaxed vibe and lead the way into what was a great night of local electronic music.