Photo by DYLAN LONG
Let’s face it, playing the TLA requires a slight recalibration of expectations if you played the Governor’s Ball in NYC the night before, but apparently nobody told the man behind the mask known as SBTRKT because he brought the house down on South Street last night. SBTRKT, a masked multi-skilled musician hailing from Britain, wasted no time behind his (count ‘em) three unique synthesizer pads, kicking off a beautiful and experimental set backed by drums, piano and his collaborative vocalist Sampha, whose high octave, soulful voice perfectly matched up with the tropical and electronic grooves being busted out all night long. Said synthesizers were put to the test as SBTRKT bent sounds inside out with no hesitation, while eerie visuals flickered in the background, making the hybrid electro noise goo all the more mesmerizing. Given that a full band was present, the group even decided to crank out an impromptu cover of “Weird Fishes” by Radiohead, an expressed favorite of SBTRKT’s. After a 90 minute spiritual/audio journey, the mere hundreds who showed up sounded more like a completely sold-out crowd, which in turn produced a large grin just barely visible behind SBTRKT’s signature tiki mask. — DYLAN LONG