Gig Review: Mechatok at Whammy Bar + Community Garden Profile

Mechatok plays Whammy Bar, bringing the global club scene to Tāmaki

^{Words by Sam Clark (he/him)}

It’s a rainy night in Tāmaki, on the turn of daylight savings. Community Garden are hosting their third show this year, featuring Berlin’s Drain Gang golden child, Mechatok.

Community Garden are one of the most exciting promoters in Aotearoa. They’ve been on the forefront of electronic music here since 2019, and have brought over acts like LSDXOXO, Logic1000 and Eartheater for their club nights at Whammy Bar. They blend these larger-than-life performers with local talent, to create genuine club nights with a global feel.

Mechatok has worked with Yung Lean, released an entire album with Bladee and remixed tracks with Charlie XCX. He performed a set on Boiler Room in London earlier this year, but the energy in Whammy Bar seemed even more authentic and vibrant.

Community Garden waste no time on set design. They take advantage of Whammy’s genuine grunginess and decorate the ceiling with multi-coloured fluorescent tubes that strobe in time with the music. The venue works well as a club. It’s re-arranged so the main stage is filled with dancers and the DJs are in a raised booth, just to the right. It transforms the space into something exciting, but familiar – knowing the variety of acts that have passed through its doors. It also speaks to the wider culture of club music, because the audience become an active part of the performance, reclaiming the space.

High-energy duo Ngāsti kicked the night off with a fun, breaky 150bpm set. Consisting of Sezzo and Crdio, the pair’s mix included the outrageous booty music track, ‘Fuck that Ass’ by DJ Funk, paired with Crdio’s MCing, with his trademark “Get Ngāsti!” They played ‘Miss you’ by Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz last, which was well-received, quickly filling out the dance floor as the audience got ready for Mechatok.

Community Garden choose the order of performers meticulously – there’s an art to it. Co-founder Bridge explains that they choose someone from the local scene that reflects the vision and intention of the headliner. This means they can cover more ground.

 “We try to speak to the spirit of the international, without just putting someone on who's doing the exact same thing.”

This time, Mechatok was in the middle, with local talent playing either side. This is unusual for an international artist, but it creates a nice contrast and challenges how a gig should be structured.

Mechatok’s entrance was dramatic and intense, using a Dolby Digital ambient soundscape with thumping bass and sawtooth synths. Which makes sense – Mechatok told Interview in 2018 that he wants his music to feel like a movie. This translates into his DJ sets, as the selection follows a narrative flow. The ambiance built into familiar and dreamy Bladee vocals, like ‘Rainbow Road’, which had pure joy flowing through the crowd. There were plenty of suspenseful glitchy breakdowns with rolling kicks, which he mixed into blissful auto-tuned tracks like Bladee’s ‘Flag is Raised’. He then cycled into stripped-back techno, with arpeggiated synth loops and stock 808s – perhaps a nod towards his home of Berlin, and Munich, where he grew up.

Only a few tracks in, it was clear that Mechatok’s infectious, euphoric set had won the crowd over – whether that’s his use of video game samples, or his fun and surprising track selection. It was an effortless mix between hyper-pop, ambient and techno – challenging what we expect to hear in the club. Bridge says this comes down to the dancers, producers and DJs in Aotearoa – everyone has a part to play,

“You can go to Berlin, and people get kicked off for not playing four-on-the-floor techno. But that can be celebrated when they come here.”

Bridge describes the unique club culture of Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa, “We have this island way of looking at things. We’re out here by ourselves, looking out at the world – and we take in a lot because of that.” They say this means music fans in Aotearoa look at the entire spirit of the planet, rather than thinking they’re the centre of the universe.

Once 3AM rolled over and daylight savings was officially in place, Mechatok surprised everyone once more with some 90s trance, followed by his sugary-sweet ‘Drama’, which he mixed seamlessly into some trap. He tied it all off with his final track for the night, a remix of Pop Smoke’s ‘Dior’ – one of many moments that felt like a nod to internet culture.

In Aotearoa, the world scene can seem far away – and Boiler Room might be the closest to seeing artists like Mechatok live. But Bridge explains why it’s important to connect in person, “There’s so much cool culture that happens online. But it's also important for us to take part in it physically – the bodies, the music and sharing the space with the artists.”

It's a big reason why they started Community Garden. They wanted Auckland to be a city where people can be themselves, feel connected to the ‘global club’ feeling without having to run off to Europe.

After five years of successful gigs, Community Garden are firmly placed in the thriving underground dance scene of Tāmaki Makaurau. But it’s a difficult time for the music industry – and alternative, local outfits are hit the hardest. Friendly Potential are on hiatus after Beacon Festival in March, and Club 121 have cancelled their next festival after persevering a global lockdown, the Omicron variant and a recession. Bridge says, “The situation at the moment is really precarious. There’s not a lot of dollars going around because the value that's being put on it by commercial-level interest is quite low.” Since Covid, flights have gone up, so it costs more to bring people over. It’s the same with booking fees, because artists need to live in a more expensive world. Bridge says that cancellations and disappointments are understandable – but it won’t stop people, “The love for it is just as high, if not higher than ever. So I think people like 121 will keep doing their thing. They’re probably just waiting for the right time.”

Last on the bill was Related Articles’ Sequentia, who tied off the night with a hard-hitting abstract percussive set. Ending on a local artist and DJ feels special and Bridge explains why, “We want to place our local producers and DJs alongside these global superstars – and show that the people here are just as talented, and should be celebrated.”

Community Garden take a uniquely Aotearoa approach to clubbing. They bring the world to Whammy Bar while celebrating local music. The electronic scene here is thriving – with a diverse and constantly evolving group of talented producers, DJs and promoters like Community Garden. Mechatok is their tenth show to date, let’s hope there’s many more to come.