AAA Backstage Archive

Live Review: Tkay Maidza with Willow Beats, Porsches @ Oh Hello 25.09.15

In the controversy surrounding whether or not Triple J would rule Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off ineligible for the 2014 Hottest 100, Adelaide rapper Tkay Maidza unwittingly became the centre of the broadcaster’s indignant response by being the artist responsible for the 100th song of the countdown (Switch Lanes). Surely this burgeoning star of Australian music, an example of everything that is working well with our country and its talent, did not deserve to miss out on the countdown? Triple J could not have made that face-saving argument were it not for the singular and idiosyncratic artist clinging to the 100th spot: a Zimbabwean born lyrical prodigy from the unfashionable parts of Australia (i.e. most of it), who at a scarcely believable nineteen years old looked stoked just to be there.

Tkay Maidza takes her happy disposition and uncomplicated exuberance with her like a rucksack; and it spreads like a feel-good panic. Friday night at Brisbane’s Oh Hello was admittedly already a pretty good place to be: just over the halfway point of a national tour already splitting at the seams with extra shows added, her last of the year, and a set of support artists that continued the party vibe of Splendour in the Grass and Mark Ronson’s sideshows, both of which Tkay Maidza showed her sunny little face.

You know Porsches. They have that song, Horses? Well. They’ve only two singles (the other being Karate) so maybe not. However, that you will once they get around to releasing an EP is something I’ve never been surer of in my life. Porsches are an electronic duo from Sydney, Jesse Sewell and Carl Fox, who are already earning a reputation for their high-production, glamorous synth-pop constructions. Think acts like Touch Sensitive, YesYou, and Client Liaison, and you get my drift. Porsches had donned the most magnificent Adidas tracksuits for the occasion, as black as the night sky, and had more people than you’d think gyrating and squirming at 9:15 pm. A cheer went up at 9:20 when the first hazy notes of Horses wafted through the smoke and the lights, and what ensued I can only reasonably describe as Bacchanalian.

I felt a little for the DJ’s, truthfully; wedged between Porsches and Willow Beats. Is Willow Beats our answer to FKA Twigs? Vocalist Kalyani Ellis certainly carries herself in the same mythical, sprite-like way onstage. Producer Naryana Johnson is a more restrained figure, difficult to make out in the darkness behind. However, I suspect that Ellis gets much of her stage presence from the reassurance she receives behind the boards. A set from Willow Beats is somehow exotic, foreign and lush; like taking part in a hitherto unknown Japanese bathing ritual never intended for Westerners. The Melbourne duo’s breakaway hit, Merewif, provided the perfect bookend to their set. The crowd perked up noticeably when they heard it.

Picture this if you can: Tkay is the tiniest thing you’ve ever seen (you might have known that). She is at least 40% hair, and 40% smile. She’s standing in between these two huge spheres, that are like black and white versions of the Nirvana logo with the crossed out eyes, but they are a patchwork of gingham patterns, and don’t even ask if they lit up (of course they did). The room was already heaving when she arrived on stage, and Tkay responded to a sweating Oh Hello. The early part of her set was given an injection of life with 2014’s adored U-Huh. Why Tkay’s songs are such earworms goes to her ability to seamlessly transition a verse to chorus; people outside definitely heard the crowd screaming “chitty bang bang, chitty bang bang”. Though many struggled to see the diminutive rapper, no-one struggled to hear her: a satisfactory tick for the audio team. Set closer M.O.B illustrates that Tkay’s best work is when her vocals are allied to the sort of 8-bit production Wave Racer is becoming known for. It’s simply a recipe for fun. It was appropriate, though, that the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Switch Lanes, the song a year ago that introduced Tkay to Australia. I don’t think she’s stopped smiling since, to be honest.