written by Darby Jones

FM @ Khyber
Live Performances by:
Drop The Lime ( Tigerbeat6/ Peaceoff / Ambush : NYC )
Pale ( Sonicterror Recordings / Aural Addiction Records : NYC )
Vytear ( g25productions / Bumpy Records : Philadelphia )
MathHead ( imputor? / Six Records : NYC )
with hosts Vytear / Starkey / Gtori

Why is it always so packed in Old City? Seriously, it took the cab 5 minutes to go from 5th to 3rd on Market. I know we could’ve gotten out to walk, but damn! It was cold! After cursing the weather gods and deciding we need to move south, my friend and I strolled up to Khyber.

On the way in we saw some drunk girl kick over the Khyber sidewalk sign, and another girl wearing gold hoop earrings with the word “Sexy” on them, even though she wasn’t. We proceeded upstairs and were immediately met with the dank smell of beer, reminiscent of frat houses and dirty dives. The night was off to a good start.

My editor had me expecting something more along the lines of a chill, lounge vibe. What I walked into was more of an industrial torture chamber. It was astonishing to witness how much intensity could be packed into such a small place.

The front row of revelers were full on into the music, bouncing to the frenetic rhythm, punctuated by spasmattic gestures and shouts. The aggressive nature of the music attracted a mainly male crowd, but thankfully of the avant garde hipster variety and not skin head nazis.

The promised “live visuals” really weren’t. The multiple video screens strewn in front of the stage were hard to see as the crowd was as close to the action as they could get. However, it did lend to the overall vibe of forced conglomeration permeated by the music.

More Jungle than industrial, the music known as “break core” was definitely forward thinking. Imagine Squarepusher to the Nth degree. Jerky, seizure inducing beats, with just enough syncopation to not be enough. There were times when it would feel a bit more mainstream underground when you’d hear some old skool breaks, soft synths, and deep bass, but only for a moment.

Particularly for me, the one stand out track of the evening (performed by Drop the Lime) had all those elements AND bouncy, chanting vocals. Very ‘Born Slippy’ in a neo-industrial way.

Unfortunately, time constraints and scheduling didn’t allow me to sample much more of the evening’s fare. Thankfully, FM is a monthly, though I’d only recommend it for the open minded.