Mingling and drinking with crowd members before his set in an oversized Hawaiian shirt, skinny jeans and Ned Kelly-esque beard; you would have not guessed that Oliver Tank was the 22 year-old producer/songwriter that had just astonished critics and fans alike with his EP release Dreams.
His humble and gracious nature belying his recent success is a refreshing change within the music industry (the last gig I saw was Kanye West….). Since his stunning six song EP release in late November, Tank has received local and international success being named in Triple J’s Next Crop of 2011, winning FBI’s SMAC competition and receiving a place on NPR Top 5 Bandcamp albums.
Performing his set at the newly opened CBD venue, The Bridge Club, which is reminiscent of an extravagant dining hall with its prevailing contemporary chandeliers and old picture frames scouring the walls; the venue was brimming with a mixed youthful crowd. It is clear that Oliver Tank in only a matter of months has made a significant impression with his self-proclaimed dream-wave sound.
With the last minute withdrawal of initial support act Oh Ye Denver Birds, Anonymeye and hip-hop electronic act White Palms took to the stage and entertained the small early crowd that had gathered with fresh and interesting electronic sounds. However, the venue only really started to buzz at the last minute with fans bursting in and hounding the bar just before Oliver Tank’s set.
With the crowd swarming with anticipation and slowly shuffling towards the stage, Oliver Tank opened with a new track (that has just been dropped on SoundCloud) titled Past, Present, Future. With his guitar in hand, Tank combined a scattering of electronic sounds and slow looped bass lines with the lyrics “All I do is dream; dream of you” vocally soaring over the top. The end result was a familiar spacious yet warm dream-wave sound for which Mr. Tank is renowned.
He then smoothly transitioned into the Massive Attack influenced EP track Embrace. With the recorded voice of Fawn Meyers swirling behind his heavily reverbed vocals, the light sparse electronic and guitar sounds he delivered produced another atmospheric and haunting performance. Avoiding the cliché straight from record performance, he delighted the crowd with his impressive and well-known cover of Snoop Dogg’s Beautiful.
Showcasing his variety and innovation, Tank then performed a surprising version of Up All Night that delicately combined the powerful lyrics of Manchester Orchestra’s I Can feel a Hot One in the bridge of the song.
He closed his frustratingly short 35-minute set with Last Night I Heard Everything in Slow Motion, the ambient and dynamic track being the highlight of his set. The warm flourish of strings supporting the auto-tuned vocal and subtle synths culminated and built into an uplifting and resonant ending.
Another downside besides the short set was the constant murmur of chatter noise throughout the set. I am unsure of whether it was venue size (with the front filled up with fans and the back area resembling a social area), or just general rudeness that was the contributing factor but it was a considerable downside to this gig. With the beauty of Oliver Tank’s music being the spacious and wistful minimalistic sound that he embodies, the wave of background noise was detrimental to the splendour of the set.
Despite the short set and crowd murmur, Tank performed a gentle and provocative set that will no doubt kick start another successful year for the Sydney producer.
WORDS: James Diamond
