Willow Beats @ The Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (16/08/2014)
Originating in Melbourne, Willow Beats are a family outfit. The musical duo, who garnered huge attention through Triple J Unearthed (securing a spot on the 2012 Parklife line-up) consist of Narayana Johnson and his niece Kalyani Mumtaz. Having grown up together with music in the genes, their close kinship can be heard in their experimental and magical dream-scape chillwave beats.
The diverse crowd at Northcote Social Club was reflective of Willow Beats sound – a trippy and daring meltdown of dub, clattering trap and glitchey electro beats matched to Kalyani's stratosphere-soaring melodies. The teen has incredibly powerful pipes that are haunting in their authenticity. Not only can she sing, but she clearly loves to entertain, and on stage she moves in a way you can't help but pay respect to. Hypnotic, Middle Eastern style writhing goes some way toward describing it. It's impossible to peg Willow Beats to one genre alone. Is that ever a bad thing? Willow Beats make music that is organic and fresh in its originality, and the live showcase of their heavily chopped, sampled and looped songs is nothing short of a spectacle. The light show is just as much to thank for this as the sounds. Epileptics beware: there is plenty of strobe and blinking, blinding lights. This dazzling visual display adds to the dramatic immersive quality of great music performed live. |
This was a gig you could enjoy sober as a judge (as did I), but it's not hard to imagine the raving generations enjoying it while heavily intoxicated. Delirious and dizzying, electrifying and exciting are Willow Beats.
The talented pair held a sold-out crowd captive with their unique brand and sound, and were humble and grateful along the way. Particularly, Narayana ensured his audience were with him every step of the way – imploring us to 'lose it' alongside him as the duo thrashed out some mystical, dark sounds on a chilly Melbourne eve.
Rebecca McCann
Rebecca McCann