With the audience seated at tables under warm lighting, the mood was set at Bimbo’s on Wednesday night for a very intimate evening with the mysterious Rhye. Canadian producer-vocalist Mike Milosh and Robin Hannibal (of Danish duo Quadron) have turned heads in the indie world with their soulful, jazzy collaboration, and March 2013 album, Woman, mostly inspired by Milosh’s intense connection with his wife. At Rhye’s live show, that passionate love felt universal – and palpable – between the audience and the band.
LA-based DJ Nosaj Thing provided a perfect lead into the show. His thoughtfully arranged collage of samples toured the world from London dubstep to Indian drumming, then came home to artists like Flying Lotus and Dntel, who hail from the same Los Angeles electronic scene as Nosaj. This situated us in the musical environment where Milosh and Hannibal began their collaboration, and provided a mechanical link to the jazzy show that would follow.
Rhye opened casually, with several slower, moody tracks. The audience was lulled in, exploring the textures, emphasis, and softer sounds that have developed from the duo’s time spent working and touring together. It was all very sensual, with rhythmically stroked cello and violin, mellow drums, and melodic keyboard.
Milosh’s androgynous vocals entered to loving cheers from the audience. These sounded more raw than on the album, but the strain in his voice worked well, lending a more passionate note to the performance. Not that there wasn’t a great deal of passion coming from Hannibal’s soulful ardor with both keyboard and piano.
Hannibal’s talent became more prominent as the set heated up and the mood tipped toward sexy. The rhythm got everyone going, incorporating some electronic sounds and bringing out the trombone. As the audience started to get maybe a little too into the feeling of “Last Dance” and “Major Minor Love,” Milosh brought everyone back down to earth with his borderline obnoxious banter over solos by each player.
The synergy between the backing musicians in the extended instrumental breaks gave the evening a jazzy feel, which coupled well with their soulful playing. Unlike other backing bands that can often seem ancillary to the recording artists, this group seemed to work together, continuing the creative process.
Towards the peak of the show, Milosh gathered the audience in a chorus of “Happy Birthday” for his wife, but never dropped the beat by rolling it right into Rhye’s hit song, “Open,” performed as a serenade to his inspirational woman. Throughout the performance Milosh kept a sense of command, moderating, providing percussion, and bringing in the feel of mechanic composition from his electronic work.
They closed the show on a mournful note with Milosh’s song, “It’s Over,” from one of his solo electronic albums. It sounded strangely beautiful arranged for the band and tied everything together as a reminder of the more painful side of love…it almost made me feel okay that there was no encore.