If music is a universal language, then chillwave is the dialect spoken by the modern breed of young musicians who breathed life into the now sought-after micro-genre.

 

It’s amazing how a niche for the dreamy, midi-fueled, synthetic, alternately lo-fi sound has been created, giving music junkies a different kind of drug to satisfy their cravings. And while electronic music has come a long way and its proponents continue to showcase irrefutable talent through self-recorded yet intricately arranged tunes, translating their seamless arrangements into live performances still packs quite a challenge.

 

Needless to say, performing a series of electronic tracks accompanied by a four-piece band before a live audience is no easy task, regardless of how mind-blowing your records have been. It’s bound to sound different, and possibly foreign, to ears accustomed to synthetically perfect tunes.

 

Washed Out’s recent concert at the Alpha Tents in Makati was an evening filled with expectations, posing the unspoken query of whether the group could deliver the goods in a live setup.

 

Ernest Greene, the man popularly known to his fanbase as Washed Out, was not about to disappoint. He did a thorough sound check with the band.

 

Cebu’s indie electronic duo Kaapin and Los Angeles-based electronica artist Baths injected the right mood with performances that elicited appreciative howls from the crowd.

 

Washed Out’s set started a few minutes past 11 p.m. with “It All Feels Right,” the lead single from “Paracosm,” the group’s latest full-length album.

 

Released only last August, “Paracosm” is based on the idea of what it was named after: an imaginary, escapist, fantasy world. The album is a form of escape in itself, a deviation from Washed Out’s established aesthetic as heard in previous releases. It sounds noticeably different from “Within Without,” its first full-length release, as well as previously released EPs “High Times” and “Life of Leisure.”

 

With “Paracosm,” the sound is more organic; the instruments are more aggressive than usual and the vocal chops are more pronounced, as opposed to the recurring dilution of verses in Greene’s earlier work.

 

“Paracosm” is a testament to Washed Out’s evolution as a songwriter and producer. While the songs are soothing and euphoric as ever, Greene’s conscious effort to use an atypical variety of analog instruments enabled him to produce a more traditional-sounding selection that is easier to translate onstage.

 

He expounded on this during a pre-show interview: “I never want to make the same album over again. As soon as I start getting into a pattern of writing a song a certain way, I feel like it’s probably a smart move to shift a little bit, make things more challenging, try something new. I think that was the biggest thing for ‘Paracosm.’ I’d been playing with a band for a few years and it just made sense to showcase that a bit more. You mentioned live instrumentation; that was probably the biggest change. So yeah, it’s made it a lot easier… we’ll be playing to sound pretty much like the record, whereas some of the older songs, made on a computer, manipulating samples, it’s much more electronic and quite hard to play…”

 

Greene’s explanation rationalized why “It All Feels Right” made for the perfect set opener.

 

The shift mentioned by Greene, however, was most palpable in “Great Escape.” With a string of lyrics laid against instrumentation peppered with hints of old-school R&B, it stands out from the rest of the tracks in “Paracosm,” or the rest of Washed Out’s songs for that matter.

 

Unfortunately, “Great Escape” didn’t make it to the concert’s set list, although the rest of the songs more than compensated for its absence. Greene let go of the acoustic guitar and got people dancing sporadically to “Belong” (from 2009’s “High Times”); “New Theory” and “Get Up” (from 2010’s “Life of Leisure”); and “Far Away” (from “Within Without”).

 

“Weightless,” another track from “Paracosm,” created a somber mood. Greene resumed strumming, this time with an electric guitar, to play the song that secured a place for him in the indie music scene and at the helm of chillwave; “Feel It All Around” stirred a frenzy among the audience.

 

In contrast to his introspective, abundant responses during the interview, Greene was a man of few words onstage. He thanked the crowd briefly in between songs and devoted his energy to his performance.

 

He delivered a livelier version of “Amor Fati”and then left the stage with his accomplices. But we all knew the concert had not ended, not just yet.

 

Washed Out obliged with a couple more songs, concluding with “Eyes Be Closed.”

 

As for my earlier doubts on whether electronic music could be successfully translated onstage, and with a full band setup, apparently Washed Out failed to replicate his recordings. Most of the songs deviated from the original studio versions.

 

Washed Out sounded different live, but the good thing is, in most instances, Ernest Greene and his band sounded better.

 

For someone who enjoys twangy guitars, strong bass lines and pounding drum solos, I have to admit that Washed Out pulled it off, despite discrepancies between its recorded and live material. And if I were to follow the dictates of a purist ideal that rejects the brilliance of a recording artist unless proven to be as exceptional when playing live, I would say that Washed Out was pretty damn good.