Mylo: Scala, London 03 February 2005

Contrary to popular myth Mylo (aka 24-year old Myles MacInnes) is not always a one-man-band. He arrived on stage to an enthusiastic full house, accompanied by two “old skool” chums from the Isle of Sky, providing an extra synth and a bass guitar for the stage. They slammed straight into the show with perhaps Mylo’s most recognized track, ‘Destroy Rock & Roll’ (from the debut album of the same name). It could be said his style is epitomized by this track with its anti-rock sample listing 80’s icons, to a seriously chunky bass line, though he does snatch samples and grooves from a wider range of electro and synth pop.

From an obvious beginning, the hyped up crowd (with an energy possibly belying their average age) were treated to electro with an industrial edge, that would not have been out of place at WGT- Leipzig, before being thrown back into the house rhythms and breaks where Mylo feels most comfortable. There is a cheese factor here but the bass lines ensure the edge remains.

Mylo’s rise in popularity has begun to snowball on the back of this tour. This gig was sold out over a month before the day and the touts were out in force. This newfound notoriety does seem to bemuse Myles, as he commented on recent reviews between songs, he also dispelled a tabloid myth relating to a high value distribution deal with Sony, for those interested.

Amidst the namedropping, the retro beats and heaviest of flat bass lines continued and infected the crowd. The mosh pit really did leap in unison and there was a buzz with each new sample. The mash of sound before the finish was hard and fast enough to crack the skull of a small bear (and that is a good thing).

However, the crowd wanted more. For an encore Mylo brought out (the subliminally promoted) ‘Free Form Five’, remixers of Mylo’s ‘Muscle Cars’, to good effect, before finishing with the exquisitely paced ‘Drop the Pressure’.

To quote the man himself “it’s got to have impact, otherwise I just don’t see the point”. This gig had impact.

words: Pat Reidy

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