There are essentially two ways to do electronic music in concert – either as a DJ set typically bolstered by retina-scorching visuals, or as a complex and involved live performance. Appropriate to his meditative and technical mix of post-dubstep, house and techno, SBTRKT goes firmly for the latter. As strobe lights silhouette Aaron Jerome plus a drummer and a multi-instrumentalist on a blackened stage, they appear as if trapped in a forest of machinery, switching at pace between mysterious-looking devices connected by an undergrowth of cabling. Which would all be challenging enough, one imagines, did Jerome not have to wear a Native American-style tribal mask – a costume contrivance which, for all its advantages of anonymity and vague mystique, must surely be a right pain when you’re trying to find the correct knob on your modular synth in the dark.
This east Londoner’s first live tour in two years supports his strong second album Wonder Where We Land and follows a steep rise in his stock value, as a star remixer for all from MIA to Underworld and as an on-trend producer everyone wants a feat credit with. From the can – almost all vocals are sampled – we get all from Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano on the bassy squelch of Wildfire to Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig on arch hip-house bump New Dorp New York. The only voice we hear live, save for Jerome’s polite spoken interjections, is that of support act Denai Moore, her smooth tones on The Light contrasted by glitchy beats and pad sounds – a standout moment that makes you wish SBTRKT could somehow corral more of his guest contributors. A remix of Radiohead’s Lotus Flower is a welcome unexpected inclusion. The up-tempo throb of Right Thing to Do featuring Jessie Ware is the closest thing to a proper hands-in-the-air moment.
This roadie’s nightmare of a production still needs its gears oiling, but if Jerome can raise the euphoria levels generated proportionate to the amount of sheer industry expended, he’ll be on to something.
• At O2 Academy, Bristol, 29 September (0844-477 2000) and touring. Details: sbtrkt.com.
