Review: Kurupt FM at The Rechabite
Kurupt FM at The Rechabite
w/ KOTA, Krypsis
Saturday, January 8, 2026
Every day in this modern age is a battle to suss out what’s real and what’s not. The AI hellscape has certainly sent our collective psyche into overdrive to the point that we might be living in a simulation within a simulation. But hey, at least the simulation is super polite and can totally see what we meant with that request and will fix that up for you right away.
When make-believe no longer feels innocent and fun, you’ll be heartwarmed to know that the lads from Kurupt FM delighted a sold-out crowd of UK Garage (UKG) lovers at Rechabite Music Hall in Perth last week.
What’s this got to do with the philosophy of our human existence? Kurupt FM’s fusion of real-world and make-believe characters has unleashed a global phenomenon.
For the reviewer, this was a raw dog, no-context gig experience. Some high-level desktop research was conducted—what started out as a parody group in the BAFTA award-winning series People Just Do Nothing has spawned a film called Big In Japan and a cheeky debut “greatest hits” album featuring heavy hitters like Craig David.
Ultimately, the whole event was a fantastic game of trying to understand if the parody was in fact parody. To quote random audience members trying to explain the concept to a clueless reviewer, “Think Flight of the Conchords, but it’s Garage.”
Big ups and many finger guns in the air to KOTA for the courage required to be the opening act for the evening. Honestly, this performance had to be real because of its earnestness.
The MC’s hype men were decked out in camouflage fishing gear (or maybe paintball fatigues) in lieu of bulletproof vests and determined to work the crowd into a call-and-response frenzy. Who’d have thought “When I say Aussie, you say Oi” could become a Garage call to action?
At first the audience hesitated to interact, but KOTA stayed the course and eventually managed to win the crowd over. Pretty sure he gave a big ups to Yokine. It’s rare to find anyone who is proud of Perth in this city, so it was a nice feeling to see KOTA show his love for the most isolated capital city in the world.
Krypsis filled the air with drum ‘n’ bass in a break between sets. The crowd was now buzzing. The energy was quite high for a school night.
Unless you were early and snagged a spot with clear sight lines of the performance, the rest of the crowd had to crane their necks, peer through armpits, or spy over heads while doing raised heel lifts to get a glimpse of Brentford’s golden sons.
With a pew-pew-pew and many rata-tat-tats, MC Grindah, DJ Beats, and Steves of Kurupt FM bounded onto the stage and immediately worked the crowd into a frenzy. From here on out the set was a high-pace back-to-back rundown of originals and covers that moved the audience through cheers, many finger gun salutes, and shouts.
The crew kicked off with Kuruptfminnit, weaved through a quick burst of tracks through to Your Mum Loves Garage and landed with sustained energy onto Heart Monitor Riddim, all while sprinkling 2000s-era radio smash hits by Sean Paul and others into the mix.
The whole four-hour journey was entertaining. If you are a hardcore UKG or drum ‘n’ bass fan, then this night was dedicated to making sure you had a ripper of a time. If you were just a fan of the absurdity that is Kurupt FM, you’d also be well chuffed. If you were parachuting in for the first time and trying to make sense of the party, you certainly wouldn’t be disappointed by absorbing this unique cultural moment. Parody can move us just as much as the real thing.
This gig was also a reminder that Perth is full of these tiny microcosms of communities and fan bases hiding in the corners—at the ready—for a raucous night to extend the silly season just a little bit further into January. We feel for anyone who had to go to work on Friday.
KAVI GUPPTA
Photos by Jed Steele
