A small cave underneath London, nearly pitch-black, is the perfect place to experience Hype Williams. Shortly following the illuminated appearance of a metal-masked gorilla man, he disappears to the cave’s hidden back room, from which are piped music and projected images of the band performing—including a monitor with an impossibly sleazy picture (above) of the man who was wearing the tinfoil mask a second ago.

Hype Williams, from East London by way of three continents, make lo-fi music whose experience is ethereal, primordial, and quasi-religious. It is not dance music. Not sure if it’s even listening music. It’s made with machines but it sounds like it came from 50,000 years in the past, from some animist or ancestor-worship ritual. My ‘cave-spiritual’ feelings from this show seem to have been confirmed when one of the tracks they just sent me involves fruit bats, and a later show—though interrupted by a tattooed and angry Irishman—featured Jewish proverbs.

Hype Williams’ members are East London standards—Mr Bundy is formerly of Graffiti Island—and HW is generating a lot of buzz here amongst those interested in a new dark electronic sound, like the band Hounds of Hate, with whom Hype did a split 7” earlier this year. (Hounds of Hate Myspace)

I like these tracks a lot. I thought I might be biased, because I kinda know the guys here in London, so I contacted the girl who lives in my laptop, who is actually a beautiful psychotic-depressive Punjab girl who is trapped in a house in rural California (not joking). She couldn’t get enough.

I’m not sure why people spend time when writing about music saying that they think it’s good. The very fact that I’ve written this means I think October 2009 is the time to listen to it.

Hype Williams – Fruit Bats Forevr

Hype Williams – silkhhh

Hype Williams Myspace