WILLARIS. K @ THE TRIFFID (Live Review)

His works have received nothing but praise, with heavy support from Triple J and Unearthed helping to launch him into the limelight. Since the release of his first few singles, his fan base has been steadily growing. Now with (equally as well-received) EP Alchemy under his belt, Jack McAllister has gone from working a trade, to midday festival slots, to selling out sizeable venues across the country as Willaris. K.
Tonight’s first support act, Beatrice, is quick to warm up the stage. She presents a sound that is cinematic in an entirely entrancing way: her soundscapes are wonderfully vivid and wholly encapsulating. It doesn’t take long for Beatrice to impress as she effortlessly adds and strips layers of synths, beats, and bass with a dream-like fluidity bridged over by her own echoed vocals. It’s a delicate set up that has the artist manning several components at any one time as she builds, deconstructs, and rebuilds sound. But Beatrice flaunts her music with a nonchalance that feels much more casual than her work demands. While the venue remains fairly empty, it gives those who came down early room to fully enjoy the show with eccentric movements unencumbered by other bodies.
The constant pulse is soon picked up by DJ Theo Kottis. His set is a slightly more upbeat affair in comparison to the other acts on tonight’s bill, but it provides a subtle contrast to both Beatrice and Willaris. K. Kottis also brings with him a more vocal-focused set, keeping things pacing perfectly as the rest of tonight’s crowd begin to file in. Shoulders begin to rub as punters grow increasingly impatient for tonight’s headliner, the growing suspense for the big reveal becoming increasingly unbearable.
At 10.20pm, the bar is empty and front of stage is tightly packed, so it goes without saying that Jack McAllister’s much anticipated entrance doesn’t go unnoticed. He’s the man who needs no introduction, so there is none. McAllister launches straight into his set, and while our expectations are perched precariously high, he still manages physically take hold of your entire body through the bass reverb alone. Willaris. K has announced his presence, all we can do is hold on tightly as we fly full force into the next hour and a half.
While McAllister only has an EP to his name, tonight he has his entire world on offer. It’s a constantly shifting universe that feels dangerously close to an apocalyptic brink at any given moment, but never quite loses control. Flashing strobes and a constant rainbow of lights keeps the artist’s face illusive, but you can tell from the shapes behind the smoke that no one is going to enjoy the night with as much enthusiasm as WK himself. While he never speaks, Willaris. K is incredibly expressive. You would only notice it if you were looking closely, but McAllister quickly flashes a beguiling smile before dropping the opening sample of Catch Phrase. He doesn’t need to look up to know  that the crowd is going absolutely wild.
The following 90 minute mix of sounds are discernibly techno, but there’s an emotion that runs deep within each track. Even the bridges of extended plays that weave the set together are heavy with an ominous intensity that evokes an almost indescribable feeling: an orphic pleasure that somehow feels foreign yet familiar, all while forcing you to surrender yourself to dance.
It’s all too easy to be washed away by the overwhelming mayhem of it all, but as much as McAllister throws you into the deep end, he also exhibits a sophistication and maturity that stops it all from being drowned by it’s own hand. Whether it’s an intrinsic knowledge of the genre or a stroke of pure genius, Willaris. K’s delicate sense of when to hold back and when to let go has the crowd salivating for his touch. Every beat, loop, and flash of strobe works with surgical precision and purpose: it’s calculated but never forced, heavily textured and deeply layered but never messy or confused. McAllister presents a finesse other artists, regardless of genre, yearn for.
There are seemingly a thousand reasons why Willaris. K has risen to fame with such ferocity—reasons I still find hard to articulate with words the way Willaris. K articulates himself with music. It can take a while to comprehend the full extent of Jack McAlister’s talent, but when you do, it’s overwhelming. By the end of the night, the mosh is soaked with sweat, heads are pounding, and eyes struggling to adjust to consistent lighting. It seems impossible for a single man to inflict so much damage, but it’s the type of pain that given the chance, you would gladly endure over and over again.