On The Scene: XP 16-09-2012

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Ahhhhhhhhh, afternoons at XP – I can definitely fuck around with that. Nothing cures those hungover blues than some down-tempo laid back electronic music from pipa fethish thruoutin and an unhinged half-crazed performance from Li Daiguo. If there was one complaint it’s that I wished I had a couch to sink into while the music washed over me. Too bad someone was too busy watching a Chinese rom-com on XP’s own – which simply baffled me considering what was taking shape ten feet in front of her. Can’t win them all I suppose.

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This was essentially my first time to catch thruoutin – I caught a glimpse of him back in June and have had his ‘dots’ EP on constant replay in those earbuds – but this was the true introduction. The EP is a different beast though – it’s a crisp confident piece of electronic music with a down tempo mood that sustains throughout the tracks, even when things get crowded in there.

But watching thruoutin today, with the sun shining through (which I’m starting to dig a lot more than the usual green and magenta tint that XP resides in at night) mix, slice together sounds, sing (even managing Chinese), and play that pipa – well, it was freaking impressive. I felt a bit like Dorothy when they pull back the curtain in the Wizard of Oz, as it was a window into how the songs take form.

Just check out how he builds up the foundation for this song, tapping at the body of the pipa before allowing the beat to take shape. His ears are working just as hard as those fingers and it shows.

It doesn’t hurt either that he has some wicked beats up his sleeves and the voice to pull off some of those spaced-out offhand lyrics. And yeah, the man ain’t bad on the pipa. thruoutin has a knack for talent – let’s hope he keeps at it.

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Alright, someone either needs to get Li Daiguo back on his meds or give him an award of some kind. Or both, I don’t know, but simply put, there is some mad genius going on in that head of his. The mice up there are working on a whole other level, which I can’t even phantom.

Did this raise an eyebrow or two? Cause that was just a warm-up to the seventeen-minute performance of pure ridiculous shit your pants awesomeness. Grab some popcorn folks, cause Li Daiguo is gonna have some serious fun now.

In many ways, I feel like he’s pulling an Andy Kaufman on us – he’s states throughout his performance that he’s knows exactly what’s doing, that this is all predetermined in some sort of way – but still, that twinkle in his eye might say otherwise. Whatever the case, it’s clear that Li Daiguo is getting off – to his own music, to teasing the audience, to defying expectations – I swear he’s enjoying this more than us. All I know is that I’d pay good money to see what the sheet music would look like for that performance.

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To cap off the afternoon, Brad came out again and joined Li Daiguo for some collaborating – the piece has a lot more unsettling elements to it than either of the two’s previous works.

This would not feel out of place in Kubrick’s The Shining. At the mid-five-minute mark, Li Daiguo starts speaking like what I can only imagine a demi-god to speak like through his microphone – great thing to show the kids. God damn, still giving me shivers. Thanks again XP for allowing this madness to take place!

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