Seiho

It’s impossible to discredit Seiho Hayakawa’s live-on-stage enthusiasm for his own sonic salads of crackling synth, chopped up R&B samples and abrupt tempo changes. He thrashes about uncontrollably, smiling in a way that you know he’d be having just as much fun playing to an empty room.

What began as smooth R&B rhythms were quickly deconstructed as he constantly tweaked dials and faders, manipulating each and every small element that was spat back out. Vocal samples that would otherwise feature prominently in any other house DJ’s set (take Beyoncé’s End of Time for example) are buried deep under wobbling beats and a storm of handclaps, barely recognizable. There are so many layers and textures popping in and out at any given moment, squeezing every last bit of sound from his collection of samplers and sequencers, it’s amazing Seiho can keep track of them all. But he does, with enough extra time to pump out a lightning fast keyboard solo and a wail on the air drums.

While the beginning of his set was littered with quick cuts and dizzying time signature swaps, he stopped to down a flower vase full of milk (?) and jumped back behind the decks to head for more sprawling territory. He worked in a number of his own tracks, really hitting a final stride with the smooth “Taboo”, before debuting a new song that he’s working on and winding down the tempo before thanking the crowd and quickly disappearing off stage.