REVIEW: Kllo, Baths (US) and Guests at MMW
Melbourne Music Week’s 10th Anniversary certainly lived up to the hype…
Hidden quaintly beneath towering skyscrapers and the cities tranquil Botanical Gardens, Kubik beckons. A resplendent open-air arena that pairs a stunning skyline with a beautifully lit cubic structure, to make for a stunning Melbourne Music Week home base for the festivals 10th anniversary. Walking through the pitch-black Alexandra Gardens, towards flickering pink lights peeking through the trees, this was the place that in the space of 1 week would be hosting a diverse array of industry favourites from Soichi Terada, CC:Disco, Kittin, Andy Stott and Radio Slaves. The menu selected for Tue 18th Nov entailed a banquet of electronic pleasantries, in the form of Kllo, Baths, LUCIANBLOMKAMP and Lonelyspeck, a spread of artists certainly adding up to one of the week’s more delicious lineups.
‘Kubik’ at Melbourne Music Week
Despite Melbourne’s lacklustre 17-degree forecast featuring a blistering post-sunset breeze doing very little for my exposed ankles, the Melbourne masses turned up. As I passed through the entrance gates, my attention was drawn to the stunning vocal performance from LUCIANBLOMKAMP, who was dressed in the cities unofficial uniform: black on black on black. The dance electronic artist who has earned himself a spot on Triple J’s regular rotation through tracks ‘Help Me Out’ and ‘You & Me’, is a well-respected artist within the local scene. Signed with the Good Manners agency, his discography features an impressive list of releases, and his training as a classical violinist has become an iconic feature in his sets which fuse bass-heavy, driving electronics and distorted vocals. His set, just shy of an hour-long, was filled to the brim with newer works, all of which still maintained that quintessential LUCIANBLOMKAMP sound. Gutteral worldly rhythms, a generous amount of bottom end, other-worldly violin phrases, and his own filtered vocal passages. With a smile and wave, LUCIANBLOMKAMP humbly departed the stage, as the lights lowered for the next course, Baths.
One of the biggest draw-cards of the night, Will Wiesenfeld aka Baths floated onto the stage in a singlet, shorts and a beaming smile. The American born artist’s extensive career includes a range of accolades from an NPR Tiny Desk concert feature, four studio albums, and awards from Pitchfork, as well as identifying as a proud ambassador for the queer community. His choice of attire was enough to make a few surrounding punters mumble “oh I just want to wrap a blanket around him, it’s freezing”, but the climate was doing little to curb his enthusiasm. The LA native spoke casually with the crowd about how he was “excited to be back in Melbourne”, and he was going to play some newer tracks which he “hadn’t quite finished” but “really liked”. Bopping around the stage guided by a sped-up stuttering percussion with track ‘Wistful’, his incredible vocal range was paired perfectly with the bass-heavy synths he controlled from his on-stage setup. Baths bounced confidently between slower ballads that showcased his beautiful vocals such as ‘Human Bog’, to heavier electronic tracks with minimal lyrics such as ‘Lovely Bloodflow’ which identified more within the realm of dance music. The casual confidence of his on-stage persona was enough to make his entire 1-hour appearance feel like a catch up with an old friend, and just as quickly as he appeared on stage, he departed, and the crowd stirred in anticipation for the main event.
If you’d just stepped off a plane after spending 20 hours in transit, you’d likely put your feet up with a fresh set of face spots courtesy of the in-flight junk food, and complain a little about the slight cough you seemed to inherit from the aeroplanes circulated air vents. Or that’s what I would do at least, but not Kllo. It would appear that Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam of Kllo would hop off a plane from LAX, collect their baggage from the carousel, and confidently step on stage to play a headline set with the style and finesse of two seasoned pros. After a quick hello to the crowd mentioning they’d just wrapped up an international tour in the USA, Europe, Asia and Russia, they broke into their iconic 2017 ‘Dissolve’. Immediately the crowd was hooked. Kllo’s stage presence strikes perfectly between incredibly humble, effortlessly cool, and unquantifiably talented.
Sweeping synths and minimal, syncopated percussion danced beautifully around Chloe Kaul’s unique vocals, making for a stunning final product that will make you feel a little like you’re falling in love for the first time. Kllo effortlessly glided into ‘Bolide’ from 2016 EP Well Worn, and one of their newer works ‘Candid’ released in late 2018, the stunning backdrop of Melbourne’s skyline adding an innocent nostalgia to the entire performance. The hour-long set from the pair warmed any cold hands on the dance-floor, a sea of first dates and groups of mates swaying gently to the pair’s beautiful performance. The highlight? Undoubtedly the duos latest release ‘Back To You’, welcomed with an overwhelming cheer from the crowd who were clearly proud we call Kllo a home-grown act. With a warm goodbye, the crowd dissipated, surely walking back to their cars through the darkened Alexandra Gardens feeling nourished by the stunning spread of artists who’d done Melbourne justice for this Melbourne Music Week. Until next year.