The last time I saw Sean Bowie, AKA Yves Tumor, they were shirtless and writhing on stage, wreathed in dry ice. Their tall frame paced across a strobing backdrop as they belted out a lithe mix of experimental noise and nonchalant spoken word to a small, devoted moshpit of headbanging fans. The rest of us looked on, curious and somewhat bemused at this singular figure producing ear-splitting sounds as we waited for the main act, house producer Jacques Greene, to come on.
That was in 2017 at the Electric Brixton. Five years on, Yves Tumor is the defiant headliner, and that mini-moshpit of fans has turned into the entire room. Tonight’s show had been scheduled once more for Electric Brixton but was upgraded to the Troxy, which has double the capacity. A hushed buzz of anticipation sweeps round the art deco space before Bowie steps out in an orb of light in front of two vast plinths housing the band. They have ample reason to treat this show like a victory lap. It’s just one stop on a mammoth and largely sold-out US and European tour in support of the performer’s fourth LP, Heaven to a Tortured Mind (2020) and last year’s EP The Asymptotical World.
