Snow Strippers‘ (consisting of Graham and Tatiana) sound is reminiscent of an era which was helmed by iconic songs such as ‘Like a G6’ by Far East Movement and ‘Party Rock Anthem’ by LMFAO. They recapture the essence and nostalgia of these songs through their heavy drum kicks and memorable synth melodies that those pop classics are known for. After their show, no one can say that Snow Strippers’ music doesn’t ooze with the nostalgia of an old era of EDM music.
Where better to see this revitalisation of a genre than White Hotel, known for its aura of mystery and attraction to all the weird and wonderful types of people of Manchester? In the crowd, looking down you see a sea of faux fur boots, and looking up you will see a sky of VHS cameras recording the show. All ages were present, and in such a diverse crowd, it felt like everyone was craving the same dopamine hit from hearing Snow Strippers music on a huge sound system.
Opening for the duo was Manchester-based Ezekiel, who has over two million monthly listeners on Spotify and songs bolstering over 180,000,000 streams. At first, to my ignorance, I didn’t know Ezekiel, yet after a few songs, a very familiar eerie synth melody boomed over the speakers, I realised it’s impossible to avoid Ezekiel’s song ‘help_urself’ on Instagram reels and TikTok. After looking up the song, I found that it has over 116,000 videos on TikTok using the sound. Safe to say the crowd went bonkers for this song.
After Ezekiel’s set had ended, any hyperpop or breakcore appetites had been whetted, and everyone was in the mood to see Snow Strippers.
Opening with ‘It’s A Dream’ featuring Lil Uzi Vert, instantly the crowd was screaming every word and making the floor shake. Tatiana and Graham’s instant energy matched the crowds, where for the entire hour or so set, they were always dancing, resonant of Jim Morrison’s iconic stage presence whilst playing for The Doors. Halfway through, the crowd’s energy had not given in, and fan favourites ‘Fake Smile’ and ‘Just a Doll’ were thumping out the subwoofers, dare I say, transporting the crowd back to times of Crystal Castles’ peak (a duo I heard mentioned all throughout the night by fans).
Tatiana’s vocal work was amazing. When at times when you couldn’t hear the words over the bass, wisps of her voice carried emotion through the crowd and Graham’s stage presence kept you constantly engaged throughout the set. The use of constant back-to-back song changes, without any breaks, kept their show true to the roots of electronic music and their face-covered DJ did a great job at making the transitions between songs seamless, as you wonder how he can actually see anything in this dark venue.
Between the air raid sirens used for transitions and the strobe lights, the show was not for the faint of heart, but these really added to the rave aesthetic of the smoked-out room with red atmospheric lights. The industrial location of White Hotel was a great spot for their first Manchester performance, with the surrounding area being covered in barbed wire and cargo containers, you truly felt you were being transported to Snow Strippers industrial, drug-induced world.
Whilst throughout this review, I have constantly mentioned reference points for Snow Strippers’ music to those who aren’t in ‘the know’, I think it would be a disservice to not hammer home the fact their music falls into a new, industrial, trippy realm of its own, but really plays on the nostalgia of those past musical epochs. This is what makes their show so entrancing and shows that their music is one for the electronic future, with hopefully a speedy return to The White Hotel.
