Live music review: Emancipator and Cloudchord excite with good vibes at Mohawk
The hot, stagnant, late Summer outdoor Austin air couldn’t deter show goers eager to see Cloudchord and Emancipator at Red River Cultural District’s Mohawk on Saturday, September 9. Over an hour before the show began, fans lined down the block eagerly awaiting the evening showcase. Once Cloudchord kicked off his set, the audience almost forgot about the ridiculous nighttime heat.
Cloudchord’s Derek Vanscoten spent his formative years in the Northeastern U.S. and has made Texas’ live music capital home in recent years The artist’s fusion of guitar and electronic sounds held a captivating versatility; offering electronic funk, lounge, and world music, joined by one of his good friends, Ari Dvorin who has a band with his wife called Austin Boogaloo according to Vanscoten. Dvorin chimed in on numerous numbers with the flute and saxophone. The local musician has been a fairly well-known sax player in Austin for some time.
In an hour-and-a-half-long set, ranging from lounge-style house music, to chill lo-fi, hip-hop instrumentals, then evolving to all-out dance numbers layered with Goldberg’s violin, the headlining, Emancipator performance immersed the audience, gradually shifting in tone and tempo throughout the set. The tonal and rhythmic variation kept the audience focused on an exceptional performance.
Douglas Appling, better known as Emancipator, took the Mohawk stage around 10:15, and stood alongside violinist and longtime collaborator Ilya Goldberg through the entirety of the show. Throughout the set, the extent to which the two Portland-based, artists have worked together was apparent in their familiarity and timing, formulating a performance of precision that Austin music fans in particular can appreciate. The live music performance bar is simply higher in this metropolis teaming with talented musicians. Local fans have come to expect the type of exacting execution Emancipator delivered last weekend.
Over the course of nearly two decades, Emancipator has released six solo LPs, a few remix albums and a series of recent collaboration works which included a Dab Records project with Asher Fulero and 11th Orbit (with Lapa). The crowd’s reaction throughout the night displayed an enthusiastic familiarity with his rich, extensive musical catalog.
There was a diverse mix of show goers in the crowd highlighting Emaniciptor’s eclectic tastes, with a wide range of positive responses to the performance. There were plenty of all-around, good vibes at Red River’s Mohawk Sunday night.
All photos by Drew Doggett
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