LIVE REVIEW: Hudson Mohawke at XOYO
Glaswegian demigod Hudson Mohawke has been DJ’ing for over half his life. In this time he’s been the youngest DMC World DJ Finalist, signed to Warp Records and developed a personal and working relationship with Kanye West. Not bad for a 20 something scottish lad.
Hudson Mohawke (real name Richard Birchard)’s, success has snowballed since his 2008 remix of ‘OOPS’ gained him a recording contract with Warp. From 2013 he officially signed with GOOD Music (Kayne’s label) as a producer only. His combination of soft horns with echoing 808 kick drums, fused with old school hip hop drum breaks works perfectly, and he can get pretty much any rapper to add a vocal track (See Chimes RMX).
There’s no question as to why Benji B has asked him to play a residency slot at Deviation’s takeover at XOYO. In the heart of Shoreditch, Hudson Mohawke steps up to show why he is regarded amongst the best. Having just played Field Day, he came on to play a trappy RnB set much to the pleasure of the sold out crowd.
Spinning tracks from his new album it was obvious it’s already a hit with the lyrics being sung by the audience ahead of release date. The set included Ryderz and an impromptu rendition of TNGHT’s GO, with the venues lighting matching the sonic displays perfectly. Hudmo played an energy filled set for around 90 minutes until he sauntered off stage leaving it in the capable hands of Benji B.
Words by Mark Campion.
