PACHYMAN + BABY’S BERSERK – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 15.2.24
Several months ago I noted that local promoters Acid Box were hosting a free entry concert in the downstairs bar of The Hope & Ruin on Queens Road in Brighton on 29th October 2023 featuring a band that I had never come across before…Baby’s Berserk. I was intrigued by their name and their look. I needed to investigate, especially as this was to be only their second ever UK gig. I investigated and was quite honestly instantly extremely excited to go and see them play live and so with this new found knowledge I made a date in my diary and went to the gig. They were absolutely brilliant and I purchased their debut self-titled album, which you can find HERE. Being such an uplifting musical experience I was of the opinion that if this Amsterdam based outfit were to return to Brighton then I would be there!
On inspecting the list of forthcoming Brighton concerts, my eyes were drawn to a new Acid Box concert that was to be headlined by a Puerto Rican native called Pachy García aka Pachyman. I was a tad surprised as to my ears Pachyman fell outside the normal Acid Box psych remit, and so clearly there must be something of interest with this concert. Then I looked underneath the headline name only to excitedly note that Baby’s Berserk were back! This time around they would be performing (with Pachyman) at the Green Door Store which is located beneath Brighton mainline railway station. And so tonight I’ve made my way to this unique venue to be entertained by two differing styles of music but both under the Acid Box banner.
So first up it was, as you would expect the turn of brilliant Dutch synthwave outfit Baby’s Berserk, who graced the stage at their allotted 8:30pm slot and gloriously entertained us all for the next 33 minutes, where we were given a mere half dozen self-penned tunes.
Baby’s Berserk came into being back in 2019 when Mano Hollestelle set out to create a group with the post-punk sound he had in mind. He worked tirelessly and with the addition of Lieselot Elzinga, Puggy Beales and Eva Wijnbergen, his plan to make rockers dance and the dancers rock had started to take form. Following on the critically acclaimed singles ‘What I Mean’ (2020) and ‘Toxic Kisses’ (2022), Baby Berserk’s highly anticipated self-titled full-length album dropped on 29th September last year. Here was the masterplan to bridge the gap between gritty rock venues as well as dance clubs. They have clearly succeeded judging by this evening’s mixed audience.
The format this evening saw energetic vocalist Lieselot Elzinga occasionally in charge of a Danelectro bass guitar, as well as a Korg synth; Eva Wijnbergen was taking care of a bass synth, another synth and backing vocals; Mano Hollestelle took care of a Hofner guitar with Bigsby tremolo arm, another set of keys plus drumpads and other effects; and their Dutch chum was at the back of the room taking care of the sound levels.
It’s fair to say that Baby’s Berserk have seriously got the “we are an edgy synthwave electro dance band and we take no prisoners look” going down. Frontperson Lieselot being resplendent in a striking pink and black short dress, black high heel shoes, black stocking, and striking eye makeup; Eva was sporting a naughty but nice all in one black rubber/plastic figure hugging catsuit; and Mano was sporting a Basque style black beret, neck scarf, black leather jacket with a black shirt underneath and black trousers. As looks go they absolutely nailed it! But what about the music I hear you cry!
They open with ‘Eat Your Dollar’ which is the first number on their album. Clearly they’ve got everyone’s attention as the majority of folk that were nattering outside and in the bar swiftly made an entrance into the performance room and in seconds from just being a handful of people, Baby’s Berserk are playing to a very busy room. ‘Rum ‘n’ Kola’ (also from the LP) was selection two, and this featured Lieselot utilising a further third keyboard to the rear of the stage, thus giving this number a dirty disco beat atop its repeated song title.
Lieselot’s rapid left-right shimmy footwork is a sight to behold and went into overdrive throughout the set and even managed to clamber atop of one of the speaker stacks despite wearing high heels and a short skirt. Song three was the slower ‘Limousine’ (also from the album) with its chugging retro synth beat. Their ‘Piggy Piggy’ dance filled earworm tune was delivered next. As far as I can tell, this is an unreleased track, unless someone else knows different.
Their final two tunes can both be found on the LP, the first of which, ‘Accessories’ was yet another corker and a real banging tune. There was a real late 70’s Giorgio Mororder style backbeat going on here. They then segued straight into the closing number ‘Dancing With The Fish’, which was an absolute banger akin to a Hi-NRG ‘I Feel Love’ with “kissy kissy kissy” vocals atop. This was a 12” version delivery, which I’m sure lasted more than the six minutes song on the disc. Baby’s Berserk’s reward was a massive applause at the conclusion of the extremely enjoyable set.
Baby’s Berserk:
Lieselot Elzinga – vocals, bass, synth
Eva Wijnbergen – bass synth, synth, backing vocals
Mano Hollestelle – drum machine, synth, guitar
Baby’s Berserk setlist:
‘Eat Your Dollar’ (from 2023 ‘Baby’s Berserk’ album)
‘Rum ‘n’ Kola’ (from 2023 ‘Baby’s Berserk’ album)
‘Limousine’ (from 2023 ‘Baby’s Berserk’ album)
‘Piggy Piggy’ (unreleased)
‘Accessories’ (from 2023 ‘Baby’s Berserk’ album)
‘Dancing With The Fish’ (from 2023 ‘Baby’s Berserk’ album)
Pachyman started playing guitar at a young age, but his developing interest for early Jamaican music made him switch to piano and bass instead. It wasn’t until he relocated to Los Angeles (from Puerto Rico) that he began self teaching himself drums. Around that time he formed the band Prettiest Eyes and started collecting inexpensive recording equipment that he found at thrift stores and second hand music shops.
After having enough gear to make his own recordings out of his basement, Pachy began recording music to pay homage to the early reggae pioneers he grew up listening to. He named the studio “333 House” and started learning techniques used by the engineers responsible for shaping the sound of early dub reggae, particularly Scientist and King Tubby. The recording process of the music was documented on his Instagram account with videos that showed him playing every instrument and ultimately mixing the end result in one live dub take. His latest long-player came out last September and is titled ‘Switched-On’. Check it out on his Bandcamp page HERE.
Pachyman has been on the road with the likes of Khruangbin, Black Pumas and Altin Gun and has been making waves across the world, with his sunshine sound. We are informed this evening by Pachyman that he has travelled the 6000 miles from LA because of this latest album. We’d better take note then!
His equipment was grouped together in the centre of the stage and included a Tascam Model 12 Mixer/Recorder, a Nord Electro keys, mini Roland keys, a melodica style keys, plus presets, and of course a microphone. He kicked off at 9:30pm and continuously worked his magic by swiftly switching from this knob to that knob to that fader and back again and the late 1970’s dub sounds normally heard but a whole band came blasting out of the venue speakers. The punters skanked, moved, danced and swayed accordingly and after just one track, Pachyman noted “The f*cking vibe in here is good” and indeed it was.
The one man dub band continued at his controls, which suddenly reminded me of when I saw Grimes a decade ago before she was famous when she played at Digital as part of The Great Escape new music festival, where she took busied away like a technology wizard. I’m pretty sure if the late great John Peel was still with us, that he would be bopping away to Pachyman at Peel Acres. No tune this evening outstayed its welcome and there was no overindulgence, in fact, to be honest, I would have liked a few dub choonz to be a tad longer, but the variations swiftly flowed by. He informed us that these are some of his influences and smilingly played away. One tune mid set almost had a Japanese rhythm via the Korg atop a repeated sample beat which was different and rather floaty. The title track of ‘Switched-On’ got an airing as well. His vocals were brief during the 57 minute set, but he did sing a couple of numbers in Spanish which added a bossa nova dub style to proceedings. At 10:27pm he was done and I can report that the applause was deafening. So all in all a very successful night then!
pachyman.com
linktr.ee/info.babysberserk
