Sam PerryOn a balmy evening when there were a multitude of offerings around Northbridge thanks to the Fridge Festival now being in full swing, it was a promising sight to see the William Street Bird bustling with actively early on to catch the serene sounds of the first act Lumiere. Normally lead vocalist for Shy Panther, Dan Fragomeni and his brother performed a heartfelt set which oozed with moody emotional vocals, against soft synthesised backing and delicate chorded piano accompaniment that set the night off to a pleasant start. Soon after, local producer YLEM upped the tempo with a slick live electronic set, using the every popular Native Instrument Maschine as his weapon of choice. Churning out lazy beats which mixed up varying styles of hip hop rhythms, with percussion trills, sub bass grooves; the chopped up sounds were an ideal way to warm up the audience in preparation for the night's main attraction.
Sam Perry has obviously been hard at work in resent months, with several releases on the label Fat Shan Music; tonight's show was a special show case of Perry's video release for the single Only Love. The crowd crammed their way to the front to witness the locally produced visuals, which were filmed on location at Fremantle Prison and hosted a number of home-grown talented dancers and actors. The production quality was extremely impressive, with a cinematic narrative of perilous love that suited the emotionally intense song, highlighting Perry's strong vocals and break beat music style. Upon the summation of the flick, Perry entered the stage and launched straight into his powerful live loop pedal arranged electronica.
A heavy percussion arrangement prevailed, with overdubbed reverberated vocals and a subsonic bass line that defies all logic. Just how this wall shaking sound could be created from only a voice and a guitar pedal is a mystery. Unfortunately, the performance was hampered by a crucial effect pedal breaking down. To assist while Perry took care of the situation, local MC Alex Vaughan came to the stage and free-styled with an avalanche of impressive improvised vocals. The combination of heavy beats and aggressive rapping held the show together seamlessly. To finish off the night, while most patrons mingled around the venue, FEYEK DJ'd some chilled-out tunes of soulful bass and off-beat electro, while expressive dancer Lily May rhythmically manoeuvred around the stage and brought this diverse summer night of entertaining music to a close.
