Seeing Yak was coming to Nottingham reminded me of the years before when my friends and I would happily nod and grin along to the Swamp 81 rinse FM shows, tensely awaiting our names on the shout-outs and grooving to tracks from the likes of Paleman, Nuvaman, Benton and of course Yak. I decided I had to check the night out.
Arriving at Box, a club newly refurbished and rebranded but still possessing the same murky red charm I know it for, I was a mixture of curious and apprehensive. The beginning of the night took off rather slowly and there were moments that the energy of the tracks felt perhaps wasted on so few punters. Around midnight the gaps in the crowd were slowly being punctuated and Peach Fuzz resident Kit reminded the crowd why they came out, dishing out low slung subs and frenetic drums so the crowd began to properly move for the first time.
“An infectious and chaotic collage”
The tone was aptly set for Yak’s arrival and, sweeping back his hair with a humble grin, Kit stood down for the headliner’s arrival. Yak picked up where Kit left off and the night was in full swing, he played a several of his own productions and very much kept to UK sounds, chopping up UK Funky, Post-Dubstep and left-field beats and piecing them together in an infectious and chaotic collage. I found myself nodding and grinning to the sounds I remembered, but now instead of crawling from a humble pair of multimedia speakers in my mate’s bedroom, they were punching their way out of a bona fide club system.
“Yak was more than happy to keep the levels pretty high”
It seemed Yak’s recent rise was justified, and it was clear why his productions are endorsed by the likes of Ben UFO and Pearson Sound among many others. If I were feeling critical, I might suggest some diversity in his set and perhaps some more chances for the crowd to recoup but it seemed that Yak was more than happy to keep the levels pretty high and who can blame him, the crowd certainly didn’t complain.
“The focus was definitely the music, which can seem a rare opportunity in Nottingham”
The atmosphere was very laid back and the night didn’t take itself too seriously at all, décor was kept to a minimum and the focus was definitely the music, which can seem a rare opportunity in Nottingham. It was an absolute pleasure to see such like-minded people pushing the sounds they love and cultivating a family atmosphere in an intimate venue. I hope to see more of the same from peach fuzz and anyone else who is passionate about their music and ambitious enough to take the leap. As the cover photo suggested, they certainly brought a choice cut and my expectations were well and truly met. Big up Peach Fuzz!
8/10
James Pares
Featured Image courtesy of Peach Fuzz Official Facebook Page.
For more reviews follow Impact Magazine on Facebook and Twitter.
Awesome review !