Live Review: Taylor McFerrin, Mei Saraswati, Ben Taaffe, Andrew Sinclair

Taking to the decks in tandem, Andrew Sinclair and Ben Taaffe supplied the rhythms in the early stages of the evening, delving into their collections for some rare funk and soul numbers to keep the early patrons’ heads nodding.

As always at The Bird, the crowd started to slowly trickle inside as the clock drew closer to the headline. Providing her vocal styling in the meantime was Mei Saraswati. In a set filled with familiar tracks both old and new, Saraswati played to the crowd in very casual manner, making jokes and light conversation on a Sunday evening that didn’t warrant intense engagement.

Come 9pm, Taylor McFerrin took to the stage with a Rhodes, synthesiser, APC controller and of course, a glass of white wine. Playing for just over an hour, the Brainfeeder representative ran through a number of cuts from his debut album, Early Riser. Performing live remixes, the now solid crowd was in awe. Looping riffs from the Rhodes and synth, McFerrin constructed a set that was indicative of the many directions that last year’s album could have taken, notably with the tracks Decisions and Already There.

The set was a comprehensive showcase of why his talent is held in such high regard. He even took to the microphone for brief stints of beat-boxing, as well as singing on Florasia. At one point, he even made a call-out for a local MC to take the stage as he made a beat on the fly. A very lucky ‘Henley’ accompanied McFerrin on stage and delivered three obviously written but still exceptional verses. 

Red Bull Music Academy has yet again delivered in their series of free gigs. Here’s hoping the next will live up to the quality of Taylor McFerrin and acts past.