Live Review: Crooked Colours, Muto, Ribongia

With the sold-out signs out, you'd of expected Ribongia to have drawn a bigger crowd, nonetheless us early comers were around to enjoy his support set.

Hiding behind his decks for the entire set, the electronic producer showed off some original tracks. He invited a live vocalist to join him for a song - she did read her lyrics off her phone, which was a bit unprofessional (but no hard feelings) - which lifted the set and the mood.

Next up, producer Muto, hailing from the Northern Beaches, preferred to let his mixes do the talking, barely saying a peep his whole set. Stragglers were greeted with upbeat house mixes of familiar tracks, which put everyone in good spirits and got bodies moving and ready for the main act.

Crooked Colours have been releasing relatively popular songs on the sly since 2014, so it's no surprise that their debut LP Vera was received with much excitement and praise - which afforded them two Oxford Art Factory shows on its launch tour (of which tonight's was sold out).

Kicking off confidently with oldie Come Down, the three-piece were met with much applause. The rest of the set was wisely curated featuring most of the tracks from Vera, with a few previous singles put in for good measure - as the crowds tend to love a good throwback and singing to songs they already know.

Dreamy synths and interesting beats sat under Philip Slabber's often intimate vocals to produce a lush soundscape that sounded big and bright as it resonated around the venue - their set really bringing to life their pop sensibility, as indicated by a never stagnant dancefloor.

Flow took out the award for biggest crowd response, so it was apt it was chosen to close the set. This was met with much crowd dismay and calls for an encore, which was fortunately received.