- Surrounding the release of her Behind The Green Door EP on Hyperdub, Laurel Halo is on the road. The first gig of the tour, at London's XOYO, featured Lee Gamble and Kassem Mosse playing live, plus DJ sets from PAN boss Bill Kouligas and Hemlock label manager Untold—an intriguing mix of left-leaning electronic acts with a tendency toward more off-kilter sounds.
The night began as a mini-PAN showcase, with Kouligas setting the tone for Lee Gamble's live set. Opening up where his Diversions 1994-1996 EP left off, Gamble moved through glimpses of vintage jungle and even jazz (Bob James "Nautilus" being the first classic that sticks in the mind). Peaking towards the end of his short set, Gamble left the crowd wanting more—a hunger which Kouligas's DJ set filled.
There was little doubt as to who the main draw was once Halo took the stage. With her ironic Phil Collins T-shirt and an array of hardware, Halo proceeded to take the crowd on a whirlpool of hypnotic analogue rhythm. There was no space for the vocal snippets, familiar from some of her earlier releases—this was a more stripped down techno affair. The deeply immersive set reached a peak with around ten minutes to go, as the sharp and haunting keys of "Throw," one of the strongest tracks from her new EP, brought most listeners out of their entranced state.
The performance was so absorbing that it was actually difficult to take in more, which was too bad for Kassem Mosse. His set was an all together more 4/4 affair and perhaps better-suited to a different setting, a smaller club for example. It felt clinical, and passed with few diversions or interesting side routes. As the crowd filtered out to barely a few, Untold took over to dutifully bring the evening to a close. Though both are interesting artists in their own right, it wasn't necessary to plump these last two on top of the excellent performances from earlier in the evening.