Hudson Mohawke – Tuesday April 27th @ The Factory.

I first saw Hudson Mohawke at a Warp party in the chasmic underbelly of the World Financial Centre, New York. It was odd, partly owing to the fact that while Mr Hawke was attracting buzz in blighty for the glittering hip-hop production aesthetics on display for Butter, the yanks had yet to hear of the unassuming Glaswegian. The audience was less than attentive, gazing towards what they assumed was an interval DJ, inanimate for the duration of his set.

Tonight at the Factory a similar episode is unfolding. The venue is housing a sound that’s muddy, décor that’s more Matthew Kelly than Ben Kelly, a lighting technician more concerned with strobe over any other lighting, and an uninterested audience; tentative, and bamboozled by the poorly lit pair on stage, waiting for the student club night to begin.

Tonight, and throughout his Pegasus Rising tour, Olivier Daysoul accompanies Hud Mo. He’s an engaging MC who this evening adds flecks of NYC nuance, occasionally stirring the audience to shift beyond reserved bopping and the odd, “woop!” however his talents go largely unused, and he’s rendered fruitless for the majority of the evening.

The pair occasionally rallies a response. You’d be hard pressed to not find yourself grooving to Mohawke’s irresistible and dark bass lines that sit atop the aggressive and  smooth rapping style that Daysoul brings to the table. Bright, deconstructed synth lines and erratic compositions are exactly what make his Warp signing apparent, and they’re in abundance. Tonight, tracks such as ‘ZooO00oO0m’ and ‘Fuse’ find the audience swaying, but you can’t help but feel as though the crowd are waiting for a main act, or a massive drop, or increased tempo. It’s not quite accessible, hardly facilitates dancing, but the flashes of luminosity in Mohawke’s songs work to add light where stage lighting fails. ‘Joy Fantastic’ and ‘I Just Decided’ find Olivier Daysoul at his most arresting, this being his moment to shine, obviously having gotten bored of pacing in the shadows. The wonky and hyperactive styling of ‘Gluetooth’, with its beats too massive for the confines of the Factory demonstrate moments of brilliance.

However tonight it’s simply not working. The lackadaisical Tuesday crowd is impatient, too sober, lacking in numbers, dare I say bored?

(Originally posted on High Voltage)