Bassheads and glitch lovers flocked to the Asheville Music Hall Friday night for a mind-bending show. K.L.O is a new wave electronic trio consisting of Kursa, Lone Drum, and Osmetic. The artists are part of the collective Slug Wife, which has gained popularity through involvement with Tipper & Friends events. Kursa, who produces solo work as well, has claimed the title “neurohop” to describe their sound, but Slug Wife as a whole rejects genres and wonders, “can we eat them?”
Local DJs Soul Candy and Duffrey warmed up the crowd, bringing the wubs and womps we needed to loosen our limbs. Artists were set up around the venue doing live painting, flow artists were mesmerizing people with their spinning lights, and the visual team was shocking the crowd with layers upon layers of pattern and color. Sacramental Studios is becoming well-known around Asheville for their live visual shows. They provided their talents for both openers as well as K.L.O. At one point, Duffrey played Super Mario-esque theme music while clips of Mario video games played behind him. It was a hit with the crowd.
Confused murmurs floated around the crowd when K.L.O came on stage. There were only two group members there, and it seemed like Kursa, the leading letter of the group, was missing. Not to worry, we were told by K.L.O show veterans–this was normal. Kursa is a part of the group in that he collaborates on the production, but when he is busy touring solo, Lone Drum and Osmetic hold down the performances. The duo was so entranced in the process that you could feel their passion transmitted through their sounds. They stood on opposite ends of the booth, Osmetic providing the focused intensity, and Lone Drum providing the bouncy dancing as he scratched records. The rhythmically distorted sounds went perfectly with the distorted art that was projected over their faces. When the show was over, the two guys simply smiled out to the crowd, and began breaking down the booth themselves as fans reached out to give their praises.
Coverage by Jordan Moodie
