Live Review: The Kite String Tangle

What’s better than free tickets to The Kite String Tangle?

Throw in a couple of free Jack Daniel’s drinks and a bunch of talented local artists and our night is set. The exclusive free gig is part of the Jack Daniel’s Future Legends Series, an initiative that aims to support and champion music’s “future legends” and the stories behind them. Those lucky enough to nab a ticket to the show are in for a special treat with the worldwide premiere of The Kite String Tangle (aka Danny Harley)’s new live show. The lighting production created especially for this event is a project built on music and creativity.

As the skittering beats strike up for opening track What If, the spectacular large-scale light show is unveiled. Four pillars of over 500 hanging LED light balls surround Harley in his illuminated fortress. We are taken on a sensory audiovisual journey as the stunning coloured lights and strobes pulsate to the beat. The lighting is perfectly in tune with each song and enhances our experience of every single moment. By third song Words, the background screen comes into play with flowing layers of mirrored silhouette graphics, matched beautifully with the slow and emotional vocals. We are mesmerised by flying shapes that draw us in with every intricate electronic beat and synth synchronised to What’s The Point?

The Kite String Tangle’s popular cover of Lorde’s Tennis Court proves to be a crowd pleaser as he brings new life to the song with a creative interpretation driven by keyboard instrumentation. Stone Cold lifts the mood up and changes the tempo with a house rhythm and features pre-recorded vocals by female vocalist Tiana Khasi. The playful track compels us to dance and we are fixated on Harley’s impressive stage presence as he sings, mixes and produces infectious drumbeats simultaneously. The passionate and powerful Arcadia – a song he explains is about an ex – starts off slow with delicate intricacies and builds up with irregular rhythms to create an ambient, calming effect. As he pauses to let the audience sing the final chorus, Harley is overwhelmed and tells us, “There’s no better feeling than hearing people sing your melody back to you.”

A compilation of videos featuring people experiencing life’s happy moments complements his breakthrough track Given The Chance, with high pitched-vocal samples and kaleidoscopic marimba sound effects. Harley explains it’s the last gig he has booked for the moment as he is about begin writing an album and promises new music for us all to enjoy soon.