The Caulfield Beats – Mexican Smoke
Navigating that rare and coveted middle ground that usually separates live gigs from 4 to the floor, The Caulfield Beats give the spirit of a DIY garage band to a vision of speaker cone bass. Spontaneity vs. repetition, organic vs. mechanical, the uncontrolled vs. the restrained – this is the sound of a band not afraid to dismantle and toy with the idea of what dance music can be. It’s called ‘garage electronics’ and will appeal to the indie kids as much as lovers of acid and techno.
Given the hybridity here then a breadth of influence will come as no surprise; from psych folk and blues, right through garage rock to minimal techno and acid house – somehow all are synthesized. The opener ’90’s love’ gracefully merges psychedelic vocals into intoxicating crescendos yet the mood is driven by glorious repetition and hard-hitting basslines. ‘Believe’ slows things down into a dub and sample based ballad, while ‘Real Sun’ and ‘Mexican Smoke’ give a glimpse into the range of sounds being worked with and what we might expect from the LP this summer.
The Caulfield Beats are Lawrence Northall and Molly Dixon. This two-piece belongs to a generation of producers for whom music studios came in the form of illegal software torrents and production was strictly DIY. A zeitgeist extending beyond music as, like a number of young creatives, they were driven into the nomadic boat based lifestyle of London’s canals – from where they conduct their activities and play impromptu warehouse parties. With live visual projections and already reputed for their visually immersive gigs, The Caulfield Beats are making us reconsider our traditional separations of dance music from live bands and in the process causing quite a stir.
The band headline Hoxton Bar And Kitchen on Friday 24th April.
