Swimming Tapes & Girl Ray opt for escapism at Hello 2017

2017 is being swept in through a wave of unease, panic and general anxiety about the year ahead. One misguided tweet from the world’s most powerful man could prompt a nuclear arms race, after all. But you wouldn’t pick up on Armageddon fears when watching Puma Blue, Cosmo Pyke, Girl Ray and Swimming Tapes. All four acts — playing the second night of DIY’s Hello 2017 residency — combat disquiet with different tools, but they each provide their own antidote to strange times. Everything’s going to be ok, so long as you turn off your Breaking News alerts.

Puma Blue are a South East London group who’ve taken influence from their area’s staple sounds. You can hear the Mount Kimbie-style application of deft empty space in ‘Want Me’, and the constant reference to King Krule’s jagged, jazz-inflected guitar playing. Jacob Allen, who fronts the project, could easily apply his far-reaching vocals to old school soul, but instead he uses Puma Blue to experiment and test the waters via showy saxophone solos and fidgety structural shifts.