WEN
Mvmnts @ Undertone, Cardiff
Fri 29 Nov
Another new promoter steps up! Good to see. Mvmnts is someone named Ryan and, at the time of writing, merely describes itself as a “nightlife contributor” – no specific genre/s listed (also good to see). The first Mvmnts headliner, however, is Wen, a DJ and producer from southern England whose dark, steely way with rhythms and samples point in equal measure towards grime and dubstep: minimal and menacing, but in a way you can certainly dance to.
Wen, real name Owen Darby, began making teenage bedroom tracks in the late 00s as dubstep started to venture overground, and released his first 12”s in 2013. London label Keysound, crucial in the evolution and crosspollination of British club music, released Wen’s debut album Signals in 2014; singles for other revered outlets like Tempa and Tectonic followed before album two EPHEM:ERA arrived last year courtesy of Big Dada Records. This one was noted for its unusually spartan, often beatless sound, and as such probably isn’t going to be hugely reflective of what Darby unloads on a payday-weekend basement – although cuts like Time II Think are more than up for a shuffle.
Tickets: from £8. Info: 029 2022 8883 / www.undertonecardiff.com (NG)