Seekae make cerebral music, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s intriguing music, rich in detail and restlessly innovative. To leave it at that, however, is a disservice. After all, there are legions of electronic producers out there sitting alone with headphones on, making music for you to listen to with headphones on…while sitting alone. These guys are different. Seekae take their cerebral sound into the primal arena of live music, and in doing so, make it something special.
Leaving The RIPE party early, I made it to the venue about halfway through perennial seizure-inducing danger, Kangaroo Skull . Strobes, smoke and suffocatingly intense club music aren’t what you usually get from an opening act, but the intensity of their set would certainly have impressed some newcomers. If you run a warehouse, you should probably try and book these guys soon.
Essentially, Seekae take a Terminator II approach to their sound, melding humanity and machinery— their live show blends electronic textures with the organic dynamics of a band. Uniting the digital and the biological has been the enduring musical puzzle of the 21st century so far, and Seekae solve it in some breathtaking ways. As fractured, experimental and weird as the arrangements get, they’re still pinned down by a pulsing heartbeat, an energy that ebbs and flows. This band isn’t just switched on— it’s alive.
You could feel that pulse throughout their set. Tracks from 2011′s +Dome were highlights in terms of crowd reception and depth of sound, the pounding ‘ Yodal ‘ and wobbling shuffle of ‘ Blood Bank ‘ sounding even more immense and immediate. Seekae also gave updated treatments to older tracks, and benefited. ‘ Snax ‘ and ‘ Centaur ,’ from debut The Sound of Trees Falling on People , were turned from glitchy energy of the record into rushing expanses of live sound. The band’s secret weapon is their percussive foundation, a mix of drum machines, kits and pads that has been refined into a precise system. Tempo and rhythm turned on a dime, from swinging hip-hop to thumping techno and just about every club sub-genre in between.
The band also took the chance to play a few new songs, built more explicitly around singing. Delicate vocals atop steady hard drive beats brought the glitchy soul of Mount Kimbie or James Blake to mind. The turn towards vocal songcraft was also reflected in what I’m 95% sure was a cover of Robin S ‘s soaring house anthem ‘ .’ Seekae isolated the original’s moody bass line and reworked it into a chilly electronic ballad. The possibilities raised for the new album are intriguing.
Seekae are Australia’s own representatives at the forefront of forward-thinking electronic music, always thought-provoking and usually dance-provoking as well. On the strength of a gig like that, international critical salivation can’t be far behind.
REVIEW BY MATT NIELSON
WORDS BY Matt Nielson
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