Jamie xx
Live at Mint Club on Sunday, 15th May 2011
If you haven't heard of the rise of Jamie xx you must have been living under a rock for the past year. One half of minimal indie act and Mercury prize winners The xx, it seems he has found his calling as a DJ/remixer extraordinaire.
The Mint crowd were energised and buzzing with anticipation to see this cult demi-God play for them and you could literally feel the excitement in the air, electricity crackling up from the dancefloor. The suspense built as we were kept waiting for a full hour, but when Jamie finally appeared (understatedly dressed in black), the crowd collectively rammed up to the front, expectant hands reaching out to touch him -hysteria in the atmosphere.
Jamie's mesmerising, rumbling basslines carried you through a whole spectrum of warped, twisted pulsating music - he is a master in building up tension before releasing his powerful, hypnotising drops.
(A quick word on the venue itself: the ceiling in Mint is incredible, arguably the best part of the club which without it is essentially just a small box shaped room. This ceiling is like an inverted illuminated dancefloor, providing a spellbinding fluorescent light show reflecting the hedonistic set below; pretty trippy).
His recent collaboration with Gils Scott-Heron, NY is Killing Me, really set the crowd off, bringing sparse urbanity to the intimate venue; Jamie's set is certainly lo-fi but expertly crafted to be thick with layers of electronic buzz, like white noise with a magnetising melody.
Jamie xx had the bewitched crowd dancing for the entirety of his two hour set - it was something very special.
He, quite simply, is the future of music.
