“Just feel the vibes.”
Masked with wearing a pair of tighty-whities, the 19-year-old prodigal electronic producer Kai Whiston commenced his first major headline set in London last week. Encased in the dormant undergrounds of Hackney’s 50-cap Pickle Factory, Whiston conducted an electrifying evening playing on such glitch-electronic tropes satirising this country’s endemic club scene. Exploring the ‘malleability of sonics’, the producer pulverised his way through the crowd throughout the evening, sonically and physically-speaking, in an exhibition of his latest highly-acclaimed debut LP, KAI WHISTON BITCH.
Massing incessant bass drops around every creeping corner of The Pickle Factory, the pit of the crowd imminently turned into a powerhouse of bodies flinging against each other to the glitchy, ADHD-production of electronics. Clunking and crashing to the high-octane lighting set encircling this crucible, imprinted a memorable experience to say the least - cinematically witnessing Whiston’s family, friends, and fans infected by the cataclysmic nature of the electronic spectacle.
Of course, at the heart of all these proceedings was Whiston - laying, sitting, crawling, and crowdsurfing along to his very own hand-crafted set of tracks, simultaneously vocalising some electrified-zombie effects. Unable to distinguish any of these said words made for difficult listening at certain parts - particularly for someone only consuming a single can of beer in solo company. Yet, the heavy-handed glitch-trap production of his samplings enticed me the most through the evening, namely ‘Lux’ and ‘Your Secrets’, unabashedly clashing their sonic poundings against the ears of each attendee.
Having recently teamed up with another prodigal force in the electronic field, Iglooghost, many of these excitable collaborated tracks featured again tonight - brinking on the verge of absurdity with the sheer number of sounds and samplings flying around the venue. Between these two forces-of-nature, however, a distinguished sound has been created and reaffirmed tonight: distorted drum beat patterns, high-pitched vocals, mixed with piercingly bassy synth sounds. From this repertoire, Whiston and Iglooghost have undoubtedly brought their side of the electronic scene through the end of this decade and into the next.
Admirably, Whiston’s ubiquitous playfulness seethed through every exhibited track offered tonight to the intimate Hackney crowd. Aside from his playful facade and quirky interpretation of mastering glitchy sounds, the producer exuded a constant show of appreciation and active crowd participation - clearly this was his night to shine on this milestone. Personally, the sonic playfulness deemed slightly too excessive for an hour-and-a-quarter set length, adding slight repetitiveness amongst the latter-parts of this cantankerous set. There’s no doubt, though, that each member engrossed by the playful nature of Whiston’s electronics are anticipating a exuberant future for the young producer - ultimately hoping that we’re pushed into an even more maniacal decade of electronic music in this maniacal world.
7/10
Kai Whiston's debut LP, KAI WHISTON BITCH, is out now and can be found here.
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