Shlohmo @ Villa 01/08/15
LA electronic musician Henry Laufer, better known as Shlohmo, has taken the scenic route to Australian cities by making a warmly welcomed stopover in Perth. After a solid 4 years of working between albums on numerous EP's with collaborations here and there he has finally let loose follow-up LP to 2011's glorious 'Bad Vibes' which was, at the time, far ahead of the EDM curve but nowadays could seem commonplace. Which is why a different direction had to be taken on his latest and sophomore LP 'Dark Red'. Dark Red is an undeniably darker album, with chasmic and echoey sounds encompassing the hip-hop heart of his sound. Overall the album represents a defiantly unique approach to his somewhat stagnant sound on recent works, with the only issue to mar its beauty being the sheer length of the project being enough to let the heavier tones grind on the senses.
That being said, a live performance is an entirely different experience, and this one, which I am so very pleased to inform you, was just lovely.
Although we did make the regrettable mistake of scheduling our arrival on time, granting us the vision of what a club sans-civilians looks like, with doors at 9 this was not unexpected, although my mood became thoroughly brightened with finding out that the media passes were a radiant pink bracelet affair which perfectly suited my attire. The trickling in crowd was a colourful collection of EDM junkies of the sort which flocks to a show by such a legend as Shlohmo is with his array of supporting acts.
Speaking of those supporting, most notable on the bill was frequent partner-in-crime Djavan Santos under the alias D33J, who was the supplier of ample beats from house to trap and back again to house for a well rounded and danceable set. Following him was a set by Purple, which provided what I thought more aptly fitted the Shlohmo vibe, with dreamlike elements which mirrored the types of shoegaze, but equally groove-able, he crafted the perfect atmosphere for the much anticipated follower...
Shlohmo and company finally let our eyes be quenched by their cooling presence as they swept onto the stage to begin immediately to perform without a word. Performing with the incredible ease that only comes with years of practice and dedication to the craft, Shlohmo and Co.(hmo) deftly ran their way through a number of his latest tracks, with what I believe to be an occasional older track although my ears were not experienced enough to tell. The crowd was moving and swaying (in some areas a little too much to be considered stable) in mesmerising fashion. This all led right up until the time had come for Shlohmo to speak in an adorably humble tone and announce that he would go off-stage only to obviously come back on stage after the required amount of 'one more song' had been ritualistically chanted and they drifted back to present to us just that, accompanied by blinding lights as if the sacramental shouts had brought some sort of deity. And so he played, closing the night by way of rallying and entrancing
dance music to send us off, back into that cold winters evening.
