Subtly textured, effortlessly propulsive, Mount Kimbie is a Force

Since their acclaimed debut Crooks & Lovers (2010), electronic duo Mount Kimbie has been labeled everything from post-dubstep to art pop to future garage— all specific titles that capture creative nuances in their sound but hardly do justice to their range. Their music embodies the detailed timbre of electronica, the propulsive energy of post-punk, and the patience of post-rock, yet these labels still don’t quite encapsulate what their records accomplish. Having previously loved Bonobo‘s live electronic-hybrid re-imaginings, I understood that this genre diversity leaves immense potential for bold expression in a live setting. Bay Area fans seemed to agree, almost immediately buying up all the tickets to their two back-to-back shows at The Chapel.

The night began bathed in aural darkness from Norwegian future-pop duo Smerz. Vocalist-producers Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg stood facing each other as they performed a hypnotizing mix of distorted, shadowy beats and coldly affectless pop vocals. They held a relaxed gaze between each other, their equipment, and occasionally the crowd. Stoltenberg rocked back and forth like a boxer throughout, her momentum tight as a metronome. The duo’s vocal harmonies were mesmerizing, adding to the strangely compelling nature of the music’s glitchy and threatening texture. Appropriately, texture was an important aspect for the entire night, and Smerz’s heightened control of it guided the crowd’s attention towards a deserving payoff.

Prior to Mount Kimbie’s entrance, the equipment on stage signaled a promising show. In addition to the expected analog synthesizers and drum pads, an electric bass, electric guitar, and a full acoustic drum set with various cymbals and percussion set up the band for a fulfillingly tactile performance. Fading into their set with the motorik beat and electronic swells of Love What Survives (2017) opener “Four Years and One Day,” and fueling the torrent with surging bass, the live four-piece immediately established an impressively calm yet tight control over their instruments. Throughout the night the drummer maintained intricate polyrhythmic beats filled with varied textures of jam block clicks, punchy toms, and electronic drums— reshaping the beat at a refreshing pace while still delivering the groove flawlessly. This support left core duo Dominic Maker and Kai Campos, as well as multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Andrea Balency, free to move around the stage from song to song, casually picking up whatever instrument the moment called for, and expressively expanding the show’s soundscape with each element.

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjSKEyR2vDo&list=PLR8IP-Ezl7uEQqC706a2Hub50YrhluNBS&index=5″ width=”400″ height=”200″][/su_youtube]

The set was filled with exemplary individual performances. On their 2009 single “Maybes”, which they explained was their first recorded song, Maker effortlessly executed the syncopated rhythm of the sampled guitar with a drum pad. Only a song prior, Campos dug into the electric guitar for the swaying crunch of 2017 single “You Look Certain (I’m Not So Sure),” while Balency (the featured vocalist on the original recording) evoked Stereolab with her relaxed yet sturdy vocals. Even with renditions of tracks featuring vocalists King Krule and Micachu, the group sung in unison to exemplify the multi-faceted timbre of the original vocal recordings, ultimately enhancing rather than cheapening the performance.

The individual member contributions meshed seamlessly, allowing dense grooves to build and ricochet, weaving a driving pulse of energy that was impossible not to dance to. Likewise, the crowd was constantly moving, riding rhythms so endlessly evolving that they never once grew tired or repetitious. The texture and timbre of each song’s unique sound palette was like ear candy, from the 80s fuzz of “Audition” (Love What Survives) to the brooding house syncopation of “Home Recording” (2013’s Cold Spring Fault Less Youth). As the crowd kept dancing, more and more sounds colored the air, hypnotic and electrifying. The live execution of each song exemplified the intricate craft in every detail, and the collected delivery of every component made the band all the more mesmerizing to watch.

The visuals were just as striking. With three classroom-sized projector screens behind the band, and even a projector pointed at the ceiling, the visuals eschewed on-stage props and fog for captivating graphics. The complementing videos were artful sequences comparable to their music videos, like a “Texture” episode of Off the Air. Pixelated MS Paint collages, static-filled photos of the moon, water droplets in slow motion, impressionistically colored smoke— each tactile image bled a visceral dimensionality into the music, all while the performers retained a humble on-stage presence that fit right in with the direct, intimate space of The Chapel.

Playing their first of the two sold-out shows, the band was clearly happy to be there. One of the first and only interactions with the audience was complimenting that the “best thing about San Francisco is that it isn’t LA.” I’m not sure exactly what he meant, but we’ll take it. The banter was friendly, but they were clearly most comfortable within the grooves of their music. It was a justified preference; their devotional attention to each musical development was sublime at points. Awe-inspiring from timbre alone, the subtle tenacity in the beats made the music all the more entrancing.

After a thirteen song set, the group returned with “Made to Stray,” a fan favorite from Cold Spring Fault Less Youth that closed the night with a satisfying snap. Mount Kimbie’s performance undoubtedly assured the audience that their production comes to life brilliantly live, and I, as one of those now entranced fans, can’t wait to explore more of the genre they belong to. Whatever it is.