SXSW: Monday night @ Viceland
Monday night at Viceland: Breakbot, PEACE, Brenmar, and The Hood Internet
Monday night at the Viceland grounds was stellar. Each act’s energy built up the next, fueling the crowd with constant dancing all night. Half of The Hood Internet was there to get things started by mashing up some more mainstream tunes. Usually, I would not have been a fan of his music selection, but the finesse with which he did this kept me and the rest of the crowd dancing.
Next up was DJ/producer Brenmar, who also played an awesome, energetic set. His set consisted of more hip hop, trap, and rap, with some bass music in between. Once again, the crowd loved it and continued to dance. Brenmar dropped some nice tracks including the “Turn Off The Lights” remix by Lloyd, “Stop Me Now” by Sj Sliink, “Wildfire” by SBTRKT, and some old classics like “Naughty Girl” by Beyonce. Sadly, in this set he didn’t seem to play much of his own productions, but if you want to check them out you can hit up his Soundcloud.
The plot twist to the all-DJ night was an energizing performance from the four-piece Brit-rock group PEACE. They played songs including “Bloodshake” off their EP Delicious. Their music sounds like the Arctic Monkeys with a more surfy flow. In my opinion, PEACE was good but nothing special. Rock groups have the challenge nowadays of trying to do something original in a genre that for the most part has been tried and tested. PEACE didn’t cross this threshold of originality. Despite the lack of originality, they were fun to watch and were certainly able to stand their ground in a DJ-filled lineup.
After PEACE was the main event: Breakbot. Breakbot has been traveling through the airwaves playing some funky French house. He is signed to Ed Banger, the the same label as Justice. In a sense this is very fitting because Breakbot is in the same vein as Justice, but less dark and rocky. Instead Breakbot picks up a post-disco, jazz-funk, and ’80s R&B flair, and gives it a modern twist. One song he played called “Forget Me Nots” by Patrice Rushen really alludes to possible inspiration for his own music. The most surprising thing about Breakbot’s set was his versatility. I was expecting strictly french house all night, but he was able to dissolve my expectations. At one point he seamlessly transitioned into a TNGHT song, followed by “Girl in The Hood” by Riton, and then he played the new Drake song “Started from The Bottom.” At the end of the Drake song he started to mix in “Move Your Feet” by Junior Senior super slowed down. As he picked up the tempo the crowd got more and more excited. During the night he also played his two most notable tracks “Baby I’m Yours” and “One out of Two.” Breakbot’s set was definitely one of my favorite sets of SXSW so far.
Post by Sam Friedlander. His DJ show “____lander” airs Thursdays at 1 a.m.