Live Review: Willow Beats, Alta, Yujen

Opening act Yujen fill the room with their relaxed, atmospheric beats. With a sound that lands somewhere between Chet Faker and Alt-J, most of the crowd is content to let the tunes wash over them. Their EP No Aware is well worth a listen.

Recently returned from a European sojourn, Melbourne electro outfit Alta take the stage and treat the crowd to beats, strong vocals and glitch. Tracks such as Wandering allow vocalist Hannah Lesser to shine, however during the songs where she isn’t singing she seems out of place onstage. Lesser’s banter is also lacklustre, with most of her attempts to engage the crowd eliciting blank stares. Nevertheless, their music is interesting enough.

As the red velvet curtain comes up, two entirely hooded figures stand on each side of the stage facing each other and holding lamp posts. There they remain for the entirety of the set, creating a sinister, cultish vibe. Willow Beats take the stage with producer Narayana Johnson up the back and vocalist Kalyani Mumtaz front and centre. Playing tracks from their EPs, the set starts slowly, building in intensity and combining dub with watery glitch overlays. Blue sees Johnson sing intimately to the audience while Mumtaz plays the touch pad. New single Merewif is very well received, as is Incantation. The best song of the night however is Grom The Betrayer, the dubstep track of operatic proportions has the entire crowd body rolling as a hair-thrashing Johnson (with strobe flashing a million miles a second) dances as if he is trying to coax some Frankenstein-esque monster from the grave. Epic is an understatement for this moment.

Our one criticism of the set, however, would be Johnson’s manner of talking just before an impending drop. While it is lovely to know that they’re really thankful we’re here, it only detracts and does not enhance the situation. Alchemy sees out the set and we bring the band back out to deliver their final dubstep extravaganza. The end sees more profuse “thank you”s and the two hooded figures shuffling awkwardly off stage, having successfully completed their lamp-holding task. Willow Beats have near-perfected the guy/girl electro double act. Mumtaz transfixes everyone and Johnson delivers drop after drop with aplomb. They seriously know their shit and do not fail to deliver a banging night out.