Awful Records X M.I.A Meltdown

“Quit fuckin’ around and let’s fuck around…”

The Alternative Atlanta family Awful Records hit Southbank Centre for M.I.As Meltdown Festival, bringing with them an extremely, Awful night of music. The Southbank Centre is not somewhere I would picture an Awful Club Night to be, and I didn’t think that particular venue was the best place for them, leaving me skeptical about how good the show would be.

Manchurian IAMDDB brought a chilled vibe, with a slightly boujee attitude, to give a show that definitely rivalled the main performance. With an amazing talent and vivid personality, IAMDDB had a presence that commanded attention for all the right reasons, easily making her one of my favourite performances of the night. Performing songs including ‘Keep It G’ and ‘How You Like‘, she made a great opening act for such a talented group of musicians.

Tiffany Calver came out to do a banging set, getting the crowd hyped for the next act (I’ll get to them in a bit…), playing club favourites ‘KMT’, ‘Whippin’ Excursion‘ and ‘Pasta’ just to name a few. The mosh pits that obviously ensued really set the mood for the rest of the night, creating a vibe that made the questionable venue seem like a minor thing.

Batman… da-na-na-da-na.

The “H.O, H.O, H.O” came shortly afterwards… I’ve seen House Of Pharaohs perform a lot, but as this was their first festival and a new crowd, I thought it would be interesting to see how the crowd reacted to their music. Wearing ‘Only The House’ tees, they brought a mad energy to the stage. Performing songs from their new project, as well as some old bangers (‘Run With Me’ and ‘8 Girls’), the audience went crazy for them. The crowd was probably the most hyped of the night when they were on stage, which is amazing considering they weren’t the main act.

20-year-old singer Bonzai was up next, with an electric but soulful vibe, that had the crowd in a completely different mood compared to the previous acts. Having already toured with Mura Masa, and her newest E.P giving her all the attention she deserves, Bonzai is definitely a name we’ll be hearing a lot more of.

Next up were the newest members of Awful Records, Danger Incorporated, coming to the stage with a trippy, yet dope vibe. They performed a number of tracks including, ‘Atlanta Neighbourhood‘ and ”Diamond’, really showing the audience why they’re now part of the Awful family.

Then it was time for the main event… In his songs and visuals Father really showcases his cool personality and unparalleled creativity, and he did the same on stage. Members of the fam, KeithCharles and Danger Incorporated joined him on stage, highlighting the fact that Awful Records is a family and not a record a label. He performed some new music that got the crowd on a good wave, but it was tracks such as ‘Spoil You Rotten’ and ‘Heartthrob’ that really got them going.

Wrist, wrist, wrist, wrist…

Singer/producer Abra joined in as well, jumping on the vocals for the banger ‘Why Don’t U’, emphasising why she is one of the most celebrated members of the crew. When the beat for ‘Wrist’ dropped (the song that made people really start to take notice of Father), Father came off stage to the front of the crowd, giving his fans a performance that they won’t forget for a very long time.