NXNE Portlands is a large & spacious, concrete location. A space like that is hard to fill. So when Vancouver’s HUMANS took the stage at 6pm on a sunny Sunday their audience was a sparse crowd of 30-ish people. This is a band we’ve seen more than once in rooms packed with dedicated fans, so I was worried. But Peter Ricq and Robbie Slade did not seem to be phased by this lack of audience. As they proceeded to play tracks from their recent EP Water Water and from their critically acclaimed album NOONTIDE, people begun to gather. It was not their typical audience but they definitely gained a few new fans.

Across the park half an hour later River Tiber, real name Tommy Paxton-Beesley, was joined on stage by a band. You may have noticed his name on Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Among other collaborations are works completed with BADBADNOTGOOD, Kaytranada, Freddie Gibbs, Mac Miller, and Pusha T, some of which can be accredited to the support of the Red Bull Sound Select. Set on a blue sky background and an occasional tree nodding in the wind River Tiber went right into his chilly, melancholic pop. His lyrics are soft, sad, and at times come of as nearly whispered. The track that put his solo work on the map is “Not Talk” – a song that you can either cry to or have sex to, and it’s an example of this chilly melancholie: “Doesn’t matter if we’ve been down / Nothing’s later than it is now / And you feel it like the motion / To the bottom of the ocean / Getting lifted in the basement / Where we all become the same thing / Always talk like you could get this / In the city acting reckless.” So no, not much dancing was happening during this set, just a lot of waving, bopping, and hugging.

More photos on Facebook.

The post HUMANS and River Tiber at NXNE appeared first on Quip Magazine.

The night started off with brother-sister duo Tennyson, her on the drums and him on the decks. Tennyson’s sound is similar to Ryan Hemsworth and Giraffage — it’s those low-key, downtempo electronic jams decorated with an occasional vocal sample that turns to vivid colour when performed live.

Next up was Charlotte Day Wilson, local alternative-soul musician. Wilson was joined on stage by a full band, who brought her DIY sound to an entirely new level.

“This is the first time I’ve played any of these songs,” she declared a couple tracks in. Well, none of us could tell. Wilson skillfully mixes jazz and electronic music, plays guitar and saxophone all while singing. Multitalented, check. Her saxophone tracks are reminiscent of early Sade but as she worked through the new songs, joined on stage by support singer Kaitlin (who, let’s be honest, killed it), the tracks progressed towards more R&B. Wrapping up the set with “Work”, a song about “working for the things you love,” Wilson and her “beautiful band” undoubtedly blew some minds in the crowd.

The evening’s headliner was River Tiber, the pseudonym of Toronto-based singer/songwriter/producer Tommy Paxton-Beesley, who also performs with a four-piece band. Some of you might know Paxton-Beesley for his appearance on Drake’s mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, but River Tiber is a lot more then the sample of “No Talk” Drake borrowed in “No Tellin’”.

Paxton-Beesley is known for his collaborations, and the ease with which he approaches work makes him an asset in the industry but attention must be paid to his solo work. When The Time Is Right dropped on September 16 and was the main focus of this showcase.

People clearly came out to see a River Tiber show. “Whose first River Tiber show is it?” asked Paxton-Beesley, and a small bunch of hands went up in the air. “How about second, second River Tiber show?” more hands went up and shouts started to come from the crowd. The Q&A quickly turned into River Tiber bingo: “Who’s seen all River Tiber shows!” with some of those same hands enthusiastically going back up in the air with joyful pride.

River Tiber plays dark, ambient electronic music that builds on live instruments. Paxton-Beesley told Noisey in February that his vocals are the most valuable to him — it’s a way to bring himself forward “in an honest format,” which definitely shows during live performances and on his record alike. His voice is nested in layers of ghost choruses, just one of the few things that makes When The Time Is Right a worthy listen and River Tiber’s show a must-see.

The post RB Sound Select with Tennyson, Charlotte Day Wilson, and River Tiber appeared first on Quip Magazine.