UK dance musician/producer Aaron Jerome (the mysterious man behind the mask of SBTRKT) made his Vancouver debut on October 25 at Fortune Sound Club and brought with him his singer sidekick Sampha, a chap who handled extra programming, steel drums and vocals, as the two-piece railed through a hybrid set of scattershot electro, house, dubstep, garage and smooth soul. Wearing the expected tribal masks (SBTRKT prefers to go “anonymous” in interviews so that folks focus the music, not the man, apparently), the duo’s set started out a mite glitchy. There were samples and beats going slightly awry, but it all warmed up nicely, as did Sampha’s strong voice.

And who knew Jerome was a decent drummer? He bashed out behind a kit for parts of the set and provided a wicked backbeat. Chicago house and soul are not typically on the BSR dance card – electro, D n’ B and techno, thanks! – but there were glimmers of that, in there as well. And the Drake/Little Dragon mashup remix of “Wildfire“? Excellent. So yeah, good to see the man behind the mask. \m/