Live Review: Rainbow Chan, Moon Holiday, Kimchi Princi, Chanel

Credit where it's due; the festivities were exceptionally curated. Far from a grab-bag of token support, backing music and headliner, the performers all complemented each other remarkably well to build excitement throughout the night. A theme of crunching rhythms, muscular sub-bass and DIY experimentation linked everything together in a beautiful way. 

DJ Chanel was the secret MVP of the evening. Greeting early attendees with an aesthetic that was both utterly chaotic and irresistibly primal, her eclectic and experimental mix of techno, house, broken beats and all things noisy was immaculately delivered; effortlessly ratcheting up the energy of the room between each set with skill and precision.

Kimchi Princi was arguably the weakest performer of the night. Her flow as an MC is technically competent but lacks linguistic imagination and her trap-influenced backdrops, while potent, were somewhat anonymous. She's a powerhouse stage presence with considerable potential as an artist - her physicality and aggression proved essential to kickstarting the night - but her overall style felt like a work in progress.

Moon Holiday was more polished. A one-woman show, her technical management of the array of effects and instrumental layers alone was impressive and, as a composer, she's managed to craft a unified and unique aesthetic of colourful, sub-aquatic soundscapes while still ensuring each individual work has sufficient unique textures to stand on its own. She lacked the charisma of Princi and her songs sometimes felt unfinished, but she has a bright future.

But, the night belonged to Rainbow Chan. From the outset, Chan's career has felt like it's progressed at a rate of knots and she took to the stage with the energy and charisma of a fully formed and battle-tested artist (even if her a cappella vocal intro was somewhat wasted on a crowd too rowdy to notice such subtleties). However, the real brilliance of her set was the joyous humanity and connection she shared with her audience throughout her performance.

On record, Chan deals in a collision of angular electronics and raw, rough-hewn humanity. On stage, that conflict becomes even more entrancing and affecting with the warm and honest openness she brings as a performer. At just nine songs, her set was short - but each cut hit and hit hard. Closing out the night with standout track Work, she left in joyous triumph.