Seekae, Ghoul, Bardeya @Woodland, Brisbane (15/4/2011)

Fri 22nd Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

With the growing increase of quality alternative electronic music in Australia, I think it’s safe to say that the timing of the release of Seekae’s +Dome album was spot on. Following a recent tour with Mt Kimbie and a plethora news, reviews and interviews from just about every music press around following this release, all they had to do was finally hit the stage and show their new and old fans alike what this new album was all about.

Woodland was the venue of choice, which saw two support acts taking the stage before Seekae played. Upon entering Woodland the first act, a DJ named Bardeya was warming the crowd up for a night of electronic music. His set included a bunch of quality dancey tunes varying in pace and style from dubstep, electro, trip-hop and anything else that could fill the void until the next act arrived.

As the venue began to fill with a crowd that was obviously eager to party, similar electronic outfit Ghoul began their set to an arousing cheer. It was evident that the crowd had come to see some quality and most importantly live electronic music and Ghoul did not disappoint. Singer Ivan Vizintin, keyboardist Anthony Warwick and drummer Andrew Hannaford put on a very interesting show, despite missing their bass player Pale Vizintin. Kicking off with Swimming Pool the vibe came across as a mash of influences from Gold Panda to Gotye to Antony and The Johnsons. Milkily was a highlight as all three elements seemed to blend perfectly.

By 11:30 everyone was eager and thirsty (also due to a lack of bar staff) to take their place on the dance floor in anticipation of the main act. Since the release of their second album +Dome, Seekae had been touted as one of the must-see live electronic acts in Australia and this reviewer wholeheartedly agrees. They are a live band and that is the only way to appreciate them. When performing tracks such as Gnor, GO and Blood Bank off their new album you can really tell why they have increased their following maybe ten-fold. By the middle of the set the crowd had vacated the bar area and migrated to the dance floor where every square inch was occupied by shuffling feet. The crowd seemed to be enjoying it as much as the band as they bobbed in unison to the emphatic tunes. At about half way the boys are accompanied by the lead singer from Ghoul who comes out during the set to lend his swooning vocals to tracks such as Wool (on which he featured) from their sophomore album.

As they ‘finished’ their set with the beat riddled track 3 cries for “one more song” encouraged them to come back on stage to everyone’s delight. We think this may be a common occurrence for Seekae as their tour continues down south.