A Cold Rush with Juno Mamba at the Gaso

Header Image via Mushroom Music

Following the release of his fourth EP Cold Rush in August, Naarm electronic artist Juno Mamba took his headline tour downstairs at the iconic Gasometer in Collingwood.

The Ballarat-born musician was joined by three local supporting acts including Amraks, VACATETHEROOM and Rino Darusman.

Mamba’s set went for just over an hour and started off strong with Joy Obison’s ‘Flight FM’ which has been a recent favourite of mine. He told the crowd that he likes to build up the energy and calm things down at the end, which is exactly what he did.

Cold Rush translates really well in a live setting, with many of his tracks carrying that euphoric feeling elicited by other artists like Fred Again, Rüfüs Du Sol, Overmono and Hayden James. I was particularly excited to hear ‘undrcut', ‘G2G’ and ‘Together’, which certainly did not disappoint. ‘Together’, the last track on the EP, is very ‘Danielle (Smile On My Face)’ coded and the drop brought a lot of energy and excitement to the crowd (myself included).

 
Images via Amy Wooller

This was my first time witnessing a live set of Mamba’s so I found it intriguing to watch him work his magic with the beat pads and chosen transitions. I also loved observing the vibe shift in the crowd, especially after the first 20 minutes or so. People became more carefree when moving to the music, as the songs kept rolling in. Shoutout to the people in the front row; they were really going for it and that’s the kind of vibe you need to bring to the function!

Unsurprisingly, Mamba’s 2022 track ‘Us’, sitting at 2.35 million streams on Spotify, was well received and for good reason. This one feels very on par with ‘Weightless’, the breezy, uplifting electronic collaboration from Hayden James and Shungudzo. If his show was held on a balmy summer evening, I know that it would have hit even harder than it already did! However, the gigantic disco ball, colourful heatmap-esque visuals, tall arched ceilings and palm leaves were great additions to the atmosphere of the space.

Juno Mamba is one of those artists who is cool, calm, collected and seemingly grounded in his craft. He’s someone you’d want to flex that you were a fan of before he blows up even more.

Cold Rush is out now on streaming platforms. Be sure to give it some love and catch him next time he’s in town!