"'Wild Horses' sends the crowd apeshit, phones held aloft and arms flailing."
Sydney producer Mookhi is clearly feeling the music as she grooves along to the beguiling ear candy emitting from her DJ set-up. Dressed head to toe in black, it's not long before Mookhi has the audience swaying along with her to a mixture of down-tempo electronica and Bonobo-esque progressive beats. The last two songs feature Mookhi live on the trumpet, which adds an organic element to this engaging display of electronica.
Bounding on stage in a red Adidas tracksuit top and sporting pigtails and a massive grin that never leaves her face, it's hard not to be caught up in the enthusiasm of Bishop Briggs. The LA-based Londoner has finally broken through internationally this year and appears determined to make the most of her shot, getting the crowd hyped and onside early with the snare-snapping Pray (Empty Gun).
Bathed in red light during the booming The Way I Do, from her awesome 2017 self-titled EP, it's noticeable from the get-go that Briggs possesses a strong vocal presence. Manipulating the crowd with her incredible tones, Briggs hits all the right notes as she performs a number of new tracks that she's been road-testing at shows throughout the year. She has the crowd waving their hands during Love Or Fear, with one excited chap exclaiming, "That was perfect!" when her vocals come in during the chorus. The monster Hallowed Ground features finger clicks and inspires Briggs to run across the stage with giddy abandonment.
Briggs' backing band (guitarist, drummer and keyboardists) help fill out the arrangements, instilling Dead Man's Arms with an anthemic quality and transforming Mercy from a low-key ballad into a thriving shot of booty-shaking, R&B-inflicted rock. Briggs whips out some questionable dance moves during Lyin' - a cross between the running man and some form of thrusting - before improving on Matt Corby's Monday, a song she taught herself this morning for her triple j Like A Version.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
Wild Horses sends the crowd apeshit, phones held aloft and arms flailing before Briggs and co retreat backstage. Returning less than a minute later with the crowd still in full voice, Briggs offers latest single Hi-Lo (Hollow) before finishing with an extended version of the genre-bending hit that started it all, River. Cementing herself as one of music's most exciting vocal prospects, Bishop Briggs is destined for great things.