Musician plays single launch show at Knox Street Bar.

It’s nights like tonight that remind you of the importance of supporting local, independent music. Knox Street Bar, nestled away just off Broadway’s George Street, is the perfect setting for a night of warm, well crafted electronic music from Sydney local Ross Henry. Support acts Currawong and Patches both similarly hail from the city, having built a strong local fan base if tonight’s attendance is anything to go by.

Currawong opens the night with his unique mix of enchanting vocals and beats, while the room fills up with friends and the local community of electronic music fans. Followed by Patches, a name to watch in the field judging by this performance; everything is expertly executed and despite not having the headline slot this evening, his performance is perhaps the most captivating.

Ross Henry himself is a self proclaimed “producer/artist who crafts warm experimental electronic music out of the cracks in the floorboards”, an apt description for a man commanding the room from the get-go with soft, ambient tunes from his The Forester’s House EP. Moving onto Mary’s Canary, he talks candidly about taking inspiration from World War One poet Wilfred Owen lyrically, interacting with the crowd as both a performer and a mate – he’s got ‘cool boy next door’ written all over him.

Tonight’s gig is to support the launch of his latest single Flux, a beautifully textured piece of work supposedly focusing on the idea of the whole planet as a safe space. “What cultivates them? Why and how do they move? What goes into dissolving or sustaining a cultural and physical sanctuary?”, asks Henry on his website, pastoral musings reflecting the pleasantly entwined electronic patterns that make up the track.

Ross Henry‘s music is everything it sets out to be. Intriguing, enchanting and accessible. The intimate show is a triumph from start to finish, with the every soft crescendo and each layer of musicality filling the room perfectly.

Photos: Anna Smith