Live review: Mietze Conte at YES Pink Room

Since 2022, Mietze Conte has been a pioneer in the electronic scene, bringing a refreshingly experimental spirit and remaining entirely in his own lane. Across four years of frequent releases, he has crafted his own sonic world, and every song he puts out is distinctly Mietze Conte as a result, existing within his incomparable soundscape. This has drawn in a loyal collective of fans, who grouped together at YES in celebration of his latest record wufwufwuf.

Friedrich Freistil and Staatsanzeiger brought a dose of euphoric techno, but the mood was instantly dampened once nuum took to the stage. The elusive live singer's attempts to harken back to 2010s nostalgia were drowned out by the chatter of audience members discussing the poor quality of his set. His Drain Gang-esque image came across as inauthentic and rooted in emulation, rather than his own individual identity or true homage.

The style of music he performed, and the image he portrayed, both felt out of place at a Mietze Conte show, and it seemed as if his appearance on the night's line-up was an attempt to pander to Manchester's prevalent drainer scene. At one point in the set, a man in the front row begged nuum to hold his hand, but as soon as the singer had left the stage, the audience member turned to us, commenting "wasn't he shit?".

Just before 2 am, Mietze Conte himself took to the stage, opening with 'DING DONG', a song featuring fellow Austrian, long-time collaborator and popular rapper Yung Hurn. 'DING DONG' tells a tale of heartbreak in solely German lyrics, with an atmospheric introduction that builds to a bell-esque arpeggiator pad that swirls around in stereo. From the very beginning, Mietze Conte's connection to the crowd was evident as he frequently approached his front rows. When he wasn't behind the decks, he could be seen at the front of the stage, singing for and at the audience.

Credit: Ella Sofuoglu @ The Mancunion

'd(-_-)b dreaming of your latte art d(-_-)b', originally in collaboration with Australian DJ and producer 1tbsp, was an example of this, in which he added ad-libs and extra vocals. 'No Nein' was bound to be a highlight of the set: the track has racked up over twelve million streams, entrancing listeners with its bubbly synths and glitched, hypnotic vocal loop.

'nanana' came towards the end of Mietze's time on stage, perfectly encapsulating his experimentalism with a different use of arpeggiator pads and demonstrating his ability to move between paces and tempos. The euphoric, suspenseful middle-eight was almost spiritual, causing a moment of breathlessness for many in attendance, but when the kicks hit, its aggressive side-chain forces movement, and not one person in the crowd was left static.

Some strange but not displeasing choices materialised in the Mortal Kombat theme song and a remix of Crazy Frog, which were initially shocking but ultimately went down well, sustaining the high energy of his own songs that were featured as his set drew to a close. A group of girls had come to the show adorned with matching bunny ears that were briefly donated to Mietze Conte, who eventually returned them. This didn't leave him unaccessorised, however, as he had come prepared with his own bunny-ear hat, which he unveiled before performing the song 'bunnybunnybunny' three times in a row.

Credit: Ella Sofuoglu @ The Mancunion

All in all, Mietze Conte's set cemented him as one of the best electronic artists around right now. His performance was fun-filled, curating an energy akin to that seen in his home region of central Europe. It wasn't just Conte's musical performance that was high-quality, though: his merchandise was appealing to the point of being irresistible, and we all left with a t-shirt. Conte operates within his own sphere, drawing out a distinct space in the world of dance music and attracting a crowd that cared about living in the moment, rather than capturing it by filming. There was a true sense of community in YES that night, and Mietze Conte is definitely something special.

https://open.spotify.com/album/63z15ti2NcOWeKbxD3jd5J?si=qR60lI-GR2eaQ70aftDIaA