The aesthetically pleasing visuals behind him may have set a serene scene for Brooklyn’s famed Knitting Factory on Thursday, April 19, but beyond that, Kasbo truly seized the city’s soundscape.
Throughout most of human history, we were wanderers, a nomadic race simply not meant to settle. In recent time, however, mankind has taken on a new tendency to stay put in one place, leaving us to romanticize about what unventured world lies outside our window.
For Carl Garsbo, better known by his stage name Kasbo, these are The Places We Don’t Know – a concept album “equal parts sad and warm,” according to the Gothenburg electronic artist.
And for his tour, these are the places he took fans using the power of music.
Kasbo blends electronic elements with a variety of live instrumentation. (Photo by Sean Reis)Kasbo opened his headlining set with the lead track from his debut album, but “Bara Du” was only the beginning of an adventure through sound. The live renditions of the record were simply surreal compared to what had already been a beautiful studio release and mixed in with his best remixes, among the popular works of others, the sky was the limit for Garsbo.
Two mixes to note came early on in his set. Kasbo first mixed his Foreign Family debut “World Away” into M83’s hit “Midnight City” with ease and soon after, another transition, utterly too-smooth-to-be-true, was his highly regarded “Indian Summer” remix into a rendition of “Never Be Like You” by Flume.
Ultimately, however, Kasbo took to new heights, the highlights of which fit with the highs from The Places We Don’t Know.
Arguably one of the best productions released during the first half year, “About You” was a clear fan-favorite late that evening, but when Kasbo dropped it into his hit “Bleed It Out” over an electric guitar, that was when Kasbo had truly captivated the crowd. The halcyon atmosphere he created was only comparable to ODESZA, the men atop Foreign Family who Kasbo included in his set as well.
Kasbo also played the succeeding album track to “About You,” aptly titled “Over You,” but mixing it into “Say My Name” by ODESZA was a tasteful cherry on top. Utilizing his MIDI controller that faced the crowd, Kasbo played the vocal chops with synthonic execution as the perfect homage to the label heads who helped release his debut album The Places We Don’t Know.
Of the many mixes, however, two of the show’s highs and lows – respective to the overall energy level – were singles that shined with the most sincerity.
“This next one’s really special to me,” Garsbo said, introducing another “Best of 2018” production, “Aldrig Mer.” It was especially euphoric as Kasbo approached the evening's end, but nothing compared to the latter respective “low,” that which may have evoked the most emotion when Garsbo told the Knitting Factory crowd he was going to “slow things down for a bit if that (was) okay” with us.
It was, the crowd obliged with no questions asked and accompanied by the track’s tranquil visuals, Kasbo performed “Snow In Gothenburg” with the plethora of assorted instruments around him on stage.
In perfect aestheticism, these were The Places We Don’t Know.