Kinnego Flux (live)

Lavery's Bunker, Belfast

Belfast-based duo David Baxter (who also records as Filaria) and Brian Greene may be a slightly strange choice to headline what is billed as a funk festival, but they are blessed relief after the overblown funk-rock nonsense of second-on-the-bill Mantic.

The pair, who recently collaborated with Lurgan’s maestro of dubstep-infused electronica, Barry Lynn (aka Boxcutter), blend hardware and software with saxophone, trumpet, bass guitar and Greene’s (arguably underused) blue-eyed soul voice. Their sound is a fluid one, flirting with jazz, soul, funk and IDM. Live, there’s a real seat-of-the-pants, improvised edge, in contrast with the concise recorded work available on the band’s MySpace page. Happily though, the jamming never gets self-indulgent. Tracks drift into shape slowly, as a crisp beat is joined by a bassline or brass part, manipulated and looped to create a languid yet danceable groove. In a busier venue, you imagine that the seamless transitions and constant pulse would have the room contorting en masse. Sadly, that doesn’t happen, but Baxter and Greene certainly keep their side of the bargain.

The electronic scene in Belfast is in a healthy state at the moment, what with Boxcutter and, on a smaller scale, Filaria, RL/VL, Defcon and BEW making some seriously exciting music, and the Acroplane netlabel continuing to release excellent stuff for free. Kinnego Flux are right there at the forefront of all that, and their forthcoming debut album on Belgium’s Bug Klinik Records promises to be well worth the investment. Chris Jones

Issue #51 - I Told You This Would Be A Good Issue

Featuring Biffy Clyro, Of Montreal, Duke Special, Frightened Rabbit, Cold War Kids, Jay Reatard, Pat Mills, and more.