The Cartel feat. XKore
Syksey, Butcherskank b2b Blacklaces, Ricey b2b Rivers, Unprotekted, Maker, Eighty4
Friday, November 7, 2014
Villa
Nearly a year after his last trip down under, Disclosure and Vandal Society laid down a real treat for Perth bass heads by bringing XKore back to Villa for another massive and yet intimate performance. The electro dubstep wunderkind from the UK made the journey off the back of an extended period spent predominantly producing. This drive to make new music has resulted in the release of the charging electro EP End of the Line, as well as a series of originals and a remix of Fox Stevenson’s Manage. This meant that there was plenty of reason to be excited for the entourage of new material he’d presumably be travelling with.
With a packed bill of talented local selectors on support, pumping out a full range of BPMs all falling under the banner of bangers or else, the big dancing crowd were afforded the chance to rinse hard throughout the whole evening. A week after Halloween festivities had vice-gripped Perth’s nightlife scene, it was a welcome relief to see a crowd’s attention turned towards the talent of musicians and the curating of good vibes and shuffling feet, as opposed to a possession-relinquishing obsession with being costumed and making photo reel appearances.
XKore opened his set with a typically heavy track, his special edit of DeadExit’s Snake. From there, the next ninety minutes would be persistently and consistently gigantic. As opposed to his last Villa appearance, where the bridges between patches of dubstep took the form of electro house tracks, and in spite of the recent electro EP release, this time around XKore used trap as his rest stop between periods of harder hitting UK dubstep. Clearly having spent time in the studio working to incorporate trap into his performances, the set was built around some of the more perfectly articulated, genre-blended production mashups going, every patron turned witness to the cleanliness and vivacity of dance music masterpieces. These included a mash of Flosstradamus’ Mosh Pit that explodes into Trampa’s Get Wicked; a trap cluster bomb comprised of one part RL Grime’s Core’and one part Mayhem & Antiserum’s Brick Squad; a dubstep monster bred by Space Laces’ Digital Gangsta and Excision’s X Rated; and a BPM-conquering transition from Prolix & Misanthrop’s DnB banger Transcendent into Hydraulix’s trap remix of Mr Happy by DJ Hazard & D Minds.
It was all a grand testament to the exorbitant talent of the 21-year-old, who has been understandably receiving similar praise for productions since the age of 17. The journey never relinquished speed or energy and kept you guessing the entire time. The stellar showing also managed to throw up dubstep peaks in the form of his own remix of Modestep’s Another Day, Gutter by Eptic and yet another XKore production, Blood Rave. I doubt many left unsatisfied with an exemplary night for all that is good with bass music and bass music culture in Perth. Well done to all involved.
JOSH LLOYD
