Lindstrøm @ XOYO, London 16.11.12

The warm up provided by hyper enthusiastic dance-rock outfit The Other Tribe was spot on. With more musicians and equipment than they could find room for, their twin drumkits spilled out behind the stage as they pounded their way through the warm up slot. Their visual style might be a little contrived but their sound was right, perfectly setting up the party atmosphere for the main act.

Once they left, the stage quickly filled with dancers jumping up from the crowd as Joakim’s excellent set bled right into the main event. Looking intensely focused, Lindstrøm took to the DJ booth with a healthy mix of new and old, as material from 2008’s Where You Go I Go Too sounded just as much like an epic, spaced out, Flight of the Navigator-type journey through the stars as it does on record.

His new album, Smalhans, is laden with the kind of endlessly spiralling hooks that sound incredible when played live, with dense basslines driving them forever upward. The effect was hypnotic and deep, which might be why the stifling warmth of XOYO’s basement didn’t seem to bother the crowd too much. They were clearly loving it.

More well-known tracks like ‘I Feel Space’ were bolstered by the live mix, sounding fresh and exciting with little hints of other artists finding their way in, like a couple of quick flashes of bass now and then from Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. It was done with taste and subtlety, making it sound all the more tantalising for its restraint.

The only qualm was that he could have perhaps played a little longer, considering he was only up there solo for a little over an hour. Really though, it’s faint criticism to say it’s upsetting that he didn’t stay for long enough. It wouldn’t have been a problem if he hadn’t sounded so good.