Between the night's two rock bands, Toronto-via-Somalia producer OBUXUM worked the crowd into a frenzy. Working with a laptop and sampler combo, the set opened with a feed of Dilla-esque percussion and meandering bass that built up to a disorienting, creeping line of rubbery distortion accented by backmasked slips. Later turns slammed tightly screwed trap worship into dazzling ambient landscapes, booms and echoes shaking the entire room throughout.
All this, it seemed, was building up to a collaboration point with emerging Toronto rapper Block Uno, who stepped in to float some struggle rhymes over a trio of dizzied chops in the set's final quarter.
It offered a survey of the producer's versatility, but as it came just as OBUXUM's set was reaching its own climactic peak, it was hard watching the production take a back seat so vocal flow could take precedence and spotlight.
All this, it seemed, was building up to a collaboration point with emerging Toronto rapper Block Uno, who stepped in to float some struggle rhymes over a trio of dizzied chops in the set's final quarter.
It offered a survey of the producer's versatility, but as it came just as OBUXUM's set was reaching its own climactic peak, it was hard watching the production take a back seat so vocal flow could take precedence and spotlight.
