It can be sort of intimidating amongst today’s modern ‘Hipster’ climate to say that you love electronic dance music. For some reason, liking EDM seems to be associated with ravers in fairy-like costumes and glow sticks (not that there is anything wrong with those, but apparently it’s way cooler to grow beards and talk about existentialism these days). I can kind of see where they are coming from as the Australian bush doof scene seeps its way into common Australian music culture, but I resent the idea that EDM is a less valuable form of music. I especially resent this idea after seeing an explosive performance from New Zealand producer Opiuo last Saturday night at the Triffid. The way that this guy lays down rhythm had every person in that room moving with ecstatic energy, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just from the MDMA a lot of the crowd seemed to be on. Very rarely have I seen a crowd react in such a physical way and I think that it highlights a pretty important truth about the ever-burgeoning EDM scene, which is that it’s ability to be malleable and specific at the same time is unique and likeable.

I arrived at the Triffid pretty early, just as the first band, Toyo, was beginning to play. The tequila sunrise in my hand matched my intentions, which was definitely to dance until said sunrise, or at least try to. The setting was pretty encouraging, I had never been to the Triffid before, but had heard good things about its beer garden and acoustics, and so far both seemed to be matching my expectations. Unfortunately, Toyo’s sound didn’t quite match my mood. The band was pretty unique, and I appreciated completely what they were producing, however, a fellow onlooker summed up what I was feeling pretty well when he said, “This is the sort of band I would like to lie down and listen to when I’m hitting the shrooms.” Despite my lack of interest in “hitting the shrooms” and listening to Toyo, I feel he hit the nail on the head here, I loved the sounds, but not for the context. They had a wonderful, lucid production which was definitely amplified by the guitarist. Plus, there was also a very enthusiastic man wearing a Hawaiian shirt dancing during their set by himself and he entertained me pretty endlessly. However, his loneliness on the dance floor seemed to be pretty indicative of how the crowd was reacting and their general sentiment; which was probably “I need to be on whatever the dude in the Hawaiian shirt is on to get down with this music.”

Despite the slightly flat Toyo performance, they did end up being a perfect way to crescendo into Opiuo’s performance, which was really well bridged by Jesswah, a producer from the Sunshine Coast, who funked his way onto stage, and rather quickly had a sizeable, grooving audience. Incorporating elements of hip hop and ghetto funk, you could see why Jesswah was a good choice as an appetiser.

Finally, the Kiwi producer, Opiuo graced us with his funkadelic talent on the decks, and I can confidently say there were probably very few in the crowd who were disappointed. There truly was not a single body that I could see that wasn’t moving, and nobody wanted to leave for sneaky cigarettes, or tactical bathroom trips, people just wanted to be there and dance. The lighting of the set was a highlight as well, I’m not sure how it worked particularly, but it was definitely a visual experience as much as it was an audio one. I think the final, and probably most important observation that I had from his set was this; I have previously seen his live band set whilst he was in Perth last year, and even though I loved it, his DJ set was so much more vibrant and interesting. The sound of the different drops and bass lines are really effectively communicated in his electronic set, and this, I think, is where the beauty of electronic dance music lies. Where a live band can express rhythm and melody in a parallel relationship, electronic dance music allows for an intermingling of both which produces the unique rhythmic, clumpy, but somehow funky and melodic sound that the genre of glitch hop so beautifully encompasses.

Opiuo, who will probably be remembered as one of the fathers of glitch hop, let us taste the beauty of EDM on Saturday night. As the audience left a successful evening at the Triffid, dripping with sweat and post-epic set syndrome, I wondered what else is going to be produced from this expansive and in my opinion, addictive, genre.

-  Annaliese Heard