Live Review: Prefuse 73, Teebs, Mei Seraswati, {Move} DJs, Arms In Motion

There was a very healthy turnout at the Bakery for this occasion of innovative hip hop, evidenced no more clearly than at the bar where lines five or six people deep gave rise to seemingly interminable waits for a drink. Thankfully, the soundtracks provided by local acts like Arms In Motion, the {MOVE} DJs and Mei Saraswati, which ranged from soulful grooves to textural, intricate pieces, made such delays bearable. Saraswati was especially engaging, her thoughtful set combining Eastern influences and steady beats with vocals that are no mere afterthought – hers is a voice that has depth and warmth in spades and brings a refreshing human touch to what can be an inaccessible art.

As musical producer, visual artist and skateboarder, there's plenty of evidence on paper of the skill and talent of Teebs, otherwise known as Mtendere Mandowa, and at the end of his set tonight there was substantial aural proof as well. Beats were laid down and gently built upon with layers of atmospheric tones and, occasionally, deep bass lines. As he sought confirmation from punters in the back half of the room that the sound levels were on the money, he refused to sit on any track for too long and instead displayed a wonderful knack for letting songs evolve and morph into one another. Jazzy elements mixed into the arrangements resulting in some of the more compelling moments of his set and produced a whole that was easy to get lost in.

With almost a decade elapsing between his last visit and tonight's well-overdue show, numbers burgeoned inside with the crowd keen to take in the glitchy hip hop that Guillermo Scott Herren, or Prefuse 73, has made his own. After a swift change over, Herren took to the stage and began a set that was heavier in terms of the beats dropped but just as cerebrally absorbing. Sadly, though, it never really reached critical mass, that point where you've no other option but to succumb entirely to the music at hand. There were ebbs and flows that were well constructed, but the sweaty heights that were reached at the Inglewood Hotel all those years ago, due largely to its modest size, weren't quite replicated tonight. At set's end, tonight's two main men joined forces for some combined mixing to cap an evening that may not have met lofty expectations, but was still immensely rewarding.