Brainfeeder @ Fabric

Burrowed in the outer reaches of Los Angeles, the Brainfeeder crew aren’t the most nomadic of music collectives. It’s even rarer for the whole lot to link up for one night, but luckily for London, Flying Lotus and his corps descended on Fabric for a special one-off event courtesy of Red Bull Music Academy,

Despite its midweek timeslot, the event was a total sell out, and the early birds were fortunate to catch Tokimonsta and Nosaj Thing. The first lady of Brainfeeder gave a blistering opening set that belied her diminutive stature, while Nosaj Thing delivered a well-received set that borrowed heavily from his LP ‘Drift’.

Dimlite switched things up and tested the crowd with his contorted, off-kilter beats. A consistent rhythm eluded him; the crowd felt it too and as a result only a stable ending kept the night running on smooth ground. Compere Gaslamp Killer had no problems in whipping the audience into a frenzy, frantically spinning a wild collage of music that spread across the entire spectrum of dance music, but always maintaining a unrestrained edge.

Daedelus has always stood out as idiosyncratic within the confines of Brainfeeder’s sound; he eschews blunted hip-hop in favour of uptempo house and electronica fusions, and his captivating performance with his Monome provides an exciting continuum from his records.

This provided a fitting precursor to head honcho Flying Lotus’s set. Rooted in the dreamy, psychedelic records of his own, and complemented by various re-workings of existing songs, Steven Ellison’s face was a picture of verve and delight as he sprang between his laptop and drum programmer. The heaving dancefloor paid true testament to FlyLo’s fast-expanding popularity, and it is him who has the power to transcend the niche that him and his peers have carved.

Stones Throw associate J. Rocc made sure the punters didn’t stray too far with a head snapping set of hip-hop and various electronic offerings. Swiss producer Dorian Concept followed with an energetic display on his Micro Korg, his fiery synth work keeping drooping eyes at bay.

Kode9 and Martyn rounded off a memorable evening with a solid set of funky, 2-step and fresh Hyperdub plates.

It’s evident from this night that the Brainfeeder collective has the longevity and nous to survive in today’s swiftly moving climate, with a roster of artists diverse in their own way that will hopefully keep pushing each other to create ever more innovative beats. 


www.brainfeedersite.com
www.redbullmusicacademy.com