UK DJ Kutmah of IZWID records has been sharing his experimental mixing with Australia for all of June.
Much like his lesser-played sets on Soundcloud, Kutmah harks back to J Dilla a lot in his set, using Dilla’s iconic sounds for intros and outros. The set tonight is essentially trap with influences of hip hop, though the vibe is more experiential rather than feeling like a normal DJ run. This doesn’t necessarily detract from the performance though. The whole room is pretty captivated and just staring and swaying rather than dancing.
It’s similar to watching someone like Flying Lotus perform; you think you know what they’re about, they’ve done hip hop-inspired stuff before, and then they throw an unexpected, welcomed curveball at you. If you love Kutmah’s usual loungey R&B and hip hop mixes, his live stuff is definitely different and more sinister and reminiscent of his night-slot boiler room sets. You’ll be into this if you’re into The Gaslamp Killah or anything from Brainfeeder. Kutmah is a DJ’s DJ who would rather push boundaries, impress some and lose some, rather than play the same thing.
Little & Olver has had a breath of fresh air through it with Kutmah and will hopefully so have many more punters.
