Last weekend, I was knocked to the floor by oscillating beats… Making your way to through a crowd at The Espy on a Saturday night that’s the packed to the rafters is not something for the lighthearted. The rewards of this venue are always the side rooms, and the charming characters that you meet. So the rewards of walking into the Gershwin room were well deserved. And on Saturday, the punters were getting knocked out by the sweet pumping beats of K-Oscillate, the electronic indie act who was getting the room all hot and sweaty on a cold Melbourne night.
Hailing form Melbourne, Hugo, Nico and Matt, the boys that make up this this energetic 3-piece act, know their drum n’ bass well as well as just about everything dub. Formed in 2003, they have previously graced the Pyramid Festival bill, toured the local scene and played over 300 gigs with many a crew. Their unique style has evolved into a structured yet frenetic melody that really gets me smiling and putting my hands up in the air along with everyone else. Infusing acoustic and electronic styles, the mix of hip hop selector lyrics from MC Hugo and synthesizer riffs from Nico makes for a very funky combination. The heavy beats from Matt on drums gives the set a backbone, and it’s all very easy to get carried away like a drunk jungle boy/girl with tracks like Unified being a highlight. The repetition of the drum n’ bass style of this song leads the hyped up crowd to lyrically repeat “unified”, like an almost reggae-tinged anthem.
The band’s stage presence, mixed with the vibrant lighting sequences of the show, saw the sweaty and shirtless MC working hard to get the crowd’s attention. His energy throughout the set did wonders, and no one could stop dancing. The well-worn hardwood dance floor was a hazard when Hazzard was played, and the track on rotation on Triple J currently Polyphony had me rushing to refill my water bottle more than once. I watched in awe as the crowd was uplifted at different points, and I learnt a few new dance tricks to pull out of the hat at the next gig.
The boys debuted their new EP Unity out on the Direct Influence label, on the night. A lot of punters were new or had been dragged along by a friendly fan, but judging from the overall performance I think they will be seeing a few more faces at their live gigs in the future. I was pleasantly surprised by this trio, as were a lot of other people that I spoke to. It’s been a little since the show now, but I still have the rhythmic lyrics and beats rolling around in my head. Let’s hope our Kiwi neighbors like the boy’s beats when they tour that side of the Tasman next month.
mogmac says...
fuk this was a fun gig. i wasnt too impressed last time i saw k.o. but they killed it. front and centre for pritty much the whole set