Contact Theatre, Manchester

A regular event at the Contact Theatre, the Black Sound Series showcases and celebrates black music and culture that’s coming out of Manchester. Although GAIKA resides in South London now, he told the audience that he spent his formative years in Manchester, and he’s also part of the city’s GREY collective, who proudly shun genre restrictions.

As they explained to Noisey last year, the GREY collective’s aim is to dismantle the preconceived notions of what British black music means. GAIKA’s newly formed live experience is still very much in its embryonic stages, but during his debut Manchester gig, that visceral mission rang through loud and clear.

For his headlining slot at Black Sound Series, GAIKA had put together a bespoke audiovisual experience to perform his debut mixtape MACHINE in its entirety. Tracks like HECO blazed with menacing dancehall energy, while the hazy dub textures of BLASPHEMER suited the venue’s foggy, theatrical visuals perfectly. There’s a domineering dimension to GAIKA’s performance style – at one point he “commanded” spectators to get out of their seats and move. Even when we did dance, the dose of nocturnal terror that comes with all his records made the party feel more cathartic than celebratory.

To perform BOHDY KNOWS (a standout cut from the mixtape) and BLASPHEMER, GAIKA was joined by fellow Mancunian and GREY collective artist Bipolar Sunshine. Shouting out the GREY movement repeatedly, they were clearly both energised by GAIKA’s first major live accomplishment. At this early stage, it would be unfair to get bogged down by the occasional patchiness of GAIKA’s show. What we have learnt, is that this is an ambitious, uncompromising vision that’s gearing up for something greater.