It’s shortly after midnight, and Bassvictim were supposed to take to the Troxy stage about an hour ago. Cavernous and carpeted, the East London venue would resemble a bingo hall if it weren’t for the distinctly low average age presented by tonight’s punters.
Tonight marks a watershed moment, not only for Maria Manow and Ike Clateman (who are about to perform their biggest London headline to date) but for the scene as a whole. Laptop Twee, as it’s been dubbed, fuses saccharine – almost child-like – melodies with glitchy electronica which magpies from a plethora of other genres, often within the space of a single 2 minute song. Bassvictim, alongside Worldpeace DMT and New York duo ear (who performed elsewhere on Pitchfork festival’s lineup last night) have led the charge in the young genre, courtesy of a seemingly-endless bank of ideas and a ferocious work ethic in the arena of album-making.
If any audience members are put out by the delay, they don’t show it. Manow and Clateman, who takes his position behind a brightly-lit DJ booth, arrive on stage to heady cheers before opening with ‘God I Wonder’, the opening track from PEACE + WAR, Bassvictim’s debut album in association with a major label, which dropped earlier today.
Whether a project formed in 2023 can boast ‘classics’ is up for debate, but Bassvictim certainly aren’t afraid to frontload the setlist with bone fide fan favourites from their early releases. ‘27a Pitfield St’, ‘Alice’ and ‘Dog Tag Freestyle’ all make appearance within twenty minutes of kick off, each to an electronic reception from the audience.
Vocalist Maria tears through one track after another with popstar swagger, personifying a nonchalance which stands in sharp juxtaposition to the ground-shaking energy from her audience: a worthy homecoming from the venue where she used to work as a bartender.
Later in the set, ‘L-ON-D-ON’ receives the biggest singalong of the evening, as a genuine sense of hometown pride emanates from the 4,000 in attendance. Britain’s capital may boast a seemingly endless pipeline of bands and rappers but not since grime’s emergence has the city felt truly at the precipice of a musical movement with this type of urgency.
Tonight’s encore sees fellow London-based sceneleader Worldpeace DMT joining Bassvictim on stage to pare-back the tempo for an anthemic, acoustic rendition of their collaboration ‘Year of the Dragon’, marking what feels like a transitional moment for the genre.
In an online world where fads come and go in a heartbeat, Internet Twee is a moment which demands to be noticed. Beneath the sonic chaos and slightly conceited air of trendiness, there is something undeniable about the output from Bassvictim and their peers. A room full of student-aged revellers coming together to lose their heads to a sound which feels distinctly their own is never a bad thing, and tonight has granted the biggest stage yet to something very exiting indeed.
featured image: Sam Huddleston
