Mutations 2025

Brighton’s multi-venue Mutations Festival took place towards the start of November, the city’s final festival of the year. The lineup featured a wide range of artists from post-punk, various electronic genres and beyond over nine venues spread across Brighton. Over two days, both local talents and acts from afar descended upon the city for a musical melting pot, with almost 100 bands/artists performing.

Friday

Silver Gore
Silver Gore opened proceedings at Patterns on Friday. Fronted by Ethan P Flynn and Ava Gore - and featuring a backing drummer and keys player to bring the duo to a four-piece - the band began with a wash of cymbals and synth, before launching into ‘Forever’ which ended on a short guitar solo. The set consisted of a mix of acoustic and electronic components, which were complemented by Ava’s beautifully high vocals. Closing with ’25 Metres’, Silver Gore’s performance was short but sweet, and a lovely way to kick off the festival.

Makeshift Art Bar
Across the road at Chalk, Belfast band Makeshift Art Bar truly solidified their position in the rapidly growing Irish noise rock scene with a stellar performance. After a very noisy entrance featuring a steel guitar, the first track culminated in singer Joseph Sweeny’s vocals descending into screams over heavy drums and noisy guitars. An incessant drum beat kept strong throughout the majority of the set, with synth elements creating a dark club vibe alongside the beat. The crowd’s energy remained high throughout the entirety of the band’s performance as their dark, heavy indie rock won over the audience. Makeshift Art Bar are reminiscent of groups like Gurriers, and certainly have the passion of the more renowned bands in their genre.

Party Dozen
In their first of two shows at Mutations, Party Dozen brought their energetic live dance music to Patterns. Despite the name, the group only consists of two members (not twelve!). Drums and saxophone were played live whilst other instruments were keyed in from drum pads. The music was of high intensity and full of buildups to speedy drum breakdowns. Saxophonist Kirsty Tickle alternated from playing her instrument in a way that you’d usually expect and shouting into her sax mic to create distorted vocals. The duo were certainly unique in their sound and ramped up the fun very quickly.

The Orielles
After another trip back to Chalk, Yorkshire-based outfit The Orielles shined with their guitar-led dreamy indie. Their sound is laid back and carefree, and the group’s serene melodies led the crowd to sway and dance. After the intense energy of the previous group it was nice to relax and The Orielles provided the perfect space in which to do so.

Mandrake Handshake
Continuing a short run of relaxing music in my itinerary, nine-piece Mandrake Handshake’s groovy psychedelic indie was hypnotic and enchanting. Taking influences from world music (specifically traditional Indian sounds), a tambourine and maracas were present alongside a saxophone, synths and jangly guitars. Singer Trinity Oksana’s vocals were the top tier of these layered instrumentals. The members of the band were crammed together on Revenge’s small stage but they made it work. There was a lot going on, but it all blended together in a soothing manner - far from chaotic.

Hotline TNT
NYC’s Hotline TNT are perhaps most known for their staunch anti-Spotify stance. After removing their music from the platform a few months ago due to conflict between the band’s values and CEO Daniel Ek’s investments into military technology the group have implored their fans to use alternative platforms such as Bandcamp to stream their music. Musically the band is energetic and lively - powerful but for a crowd of dancers, not moshers. Overcoming technical difficulties with humour and style, the group launched into track after track, each one heavy yet tuneful. At Mutations, Hotline TNT proved that you don’t need Spotify to make noise.

Winter
At Dust, dream-pop shoegazer Samira Winter opened slow and melancholic before drums kicked in and the track built into a happier, more upbeat tune. Guitar solos and fast-paced drums were interspersed throughout slower parts. These downbeat sections alongside upbeat moments evoked a sharp sense of nostalgia and longing. Sonically spacey and ambient, the visual setup matched the music. A retro analog TV atop an amp displayed the band’s visuals, and star stickers adorned the pedals (which there were lots of) on Samira’s pedalboard.

Party Dozen (again)
After Mary in the Junkyard unfortunately pulled out of the festival last minute, Party Dozen rose to the opportunity to play a bigger stage than their scheduled slot. They performed the same show as before but extended - their new 50 minute slot prompted more tracks than their prior 35 minute performance. This translated just as well into a bigger room, and even resulted in an unexpected small mosh.

Adult DVD
Almost half an hour before Adult DVD had even set foot on stage, Dust was completely rammed and at capacity with no room to move around once inside. After the band took to the stage, opening with ‘Yacht Money’, the crowd raucously sang and chanted along to each and every song. They were a sea of moving people - nobody in the room was still. There was barely space in the venue to mosh but regardless there was a non-stop pit which took up the majority of the space. Everyone was on their feet bouncing around. The intro to ‘Do Something’ was botched twice in a row, but each time the track restarted the crowd loved it even more. The set ended of course on ‘Bill Murray’, which features ridiculous and funny lyrics. Synthy and a whole load of fun, Adult DVD received the best crowd reception of the day, and deservedly so.

Ditz
For a small taste of what Saturday’s programming at Revenge would offer, Brighton’s biggest gay club took a deep dive into the world of hardcore noise rock. Shouty and heavy, Ditz headlined the venue in a rowdy set filled with sweat and gusto. In an Outbreak Festival-esque fashion, the raised steps at the side of the venue were used as a platform from which revellers launched themselves off of to crowdsurf. There wasn’t far to surf in such a small room but the thrill of leaping into the crowd was more than enough for many, with vocalist Cal Francis leading the trend. The music itself was fast and furious. ‘Taxi Man’ was a particular standout track in a set of songs that bled into one another in a chaotic attack of noise.

Vlure
Vlure took over Dust for a post-headliner “late night” set (albeit before 11pm). The Glasgow group fused elements of techno and drum & bass with a live rock band. With a dark, sweaty club vibe, the audience were half moshing and half dancing, though descended into heavier moshing as the set progressed. Vocalist Hamish Hutcheson and his strong Scottish accent led the way over bouncy dance music that was reminiscent of The Prodigy. Taking his shirt off after just two songs, Hutcheson remained aggressively passionate and interactive with the crowd throughout. He jumped into the audience on multiple occasions and shouted directly towards those in the front row. Black and white strobe lighting took over the club for the duration of the performance, which primarily consisted of tracks from new album Escalate. Vlure ended on ‘Between Dreams’, at which point the room exploded into a frenzy of dancing. Anyone who wasn’t already in the now-gigantic pit was sucked into a whirlpool as the whole room came alive, ending on a high.

MADMADMAD
Though the previous group were perhaps tough to follow, MADMADMAD were a great fit. In their late electronic set they certainly lived up to their name. With synths and percussion (including a LOT of cowbells) creating spacey sound effects, everyone’s hips and arms moved - culminating in a true club experience. Hypnotic repeating electronic loops blasted out of the speakers accompanied by live drums, which really complemented each other. Though there was another band to come after, MADMADMAD closed the night for many with an absolute party.

Saturday

Blood Wizard
A waft of slow and gentle indie wafted from Green Door Store at lunchtime on Saturday. Blood Wizard’s dreamy music featured strong underpinning basslines and synth alongside guitars as Cai Burns and Faye Robinson serenaded a busy crowd. This was an absolutely lovely way to ease into a day of music.

Teethe
Over the road at The Prince Albert, young indie boyband Teethe performed with energy and enthusiasm. The kick drum played up a little towards the start of the band’s set but luckily a member of the audience had a drum key to hand, and proceedings continued very quickly. The band’s speedy, energetic rock was fun and refreshing, and each member seemed genuinely friendly and charismatic.

Pan Amsterdam
Pan Amsterdam, the hip-hop project of New York jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas, took to the stage next. With a Metronomy collaboration under the belt under this moniker, Thomas is also known for writing and producing Iggy Pop’s 2019 album Free. Rocking aviators, Pan Amsterdam masterfully switched seamlessly between rapping and trumpet solos, with elements of both in each and every song. Referring to himself as a “foodie” (which makes sense as many a Pan Amsterdam song is named after food!), Thomas segued from ‘Rigatoni’ into biggest solo hit ‘Carrot Cake’. A friendly and cheerful character, the rapper-trumpeter was bubbly, chatty and always smiling. His alternative version ‘NYC Town’ of his Metronomy collaboration ‘Nice Town’ was also performed. It’s hard to miss the fact that the rapper in Leron Thomas really shines through. With masterful wit and lyricism, the trumpet is not the only unique thing about this rapper.

Coilguns
Before the performance had even begun, vocalist Louis Jucker wandered into the crowd and shook the hands of as many audience members as possible in the five minutes before he was due onstage. When the time came, he hopped up and beckoned for everyone to come closer to the stage. Beginning with a theatrical bow, Coilguns performed raucous hardcore punk, with an intense pit. Hands were thrown as the crowd practically threw themselves at one another. The performance itself was bizarre yet incredible. You could never tell what Jucker’s next move would be; the singer made laps around the venue, even ending up standing on the sound desk at one point. Through all of this he asked the crowd to “show all their strangeness” and offered his “Swiss love” to each and every person in attendance. Speaking out about fascism and the climate crisis between songs, Coilguns brought a message of peace and love despite their violent music.

Truck Violence
In a back-to-back run of hardcore, Montreal-based Truck Violence performed in front of a spray painted tapestry reading “VIOLENCE” with an image of a firing gun beneath. Funnily, vocalist Karsyn Henderson donned a shirt with images of cute little kittens, the complete antithesis of the banner behind him. After just a single song, however, the shirt was already on the floor as Henderson two-stepped and strutted about the stage filled with what could only be described as pure rage. As before, the crowd were active, fuelled by the band’s screamy hardcore - which was brittle yet beautiful.

Keo
Turning it down a notch, but certainly not all the way, exciting indie band on the rise Keo took to Chalk to play to a packed crowd excited for fresh talent. After debut album Siren released earlier this year, the group has grown massively in popularity. It has to be said that the band are very similar sonically to Wunderhorse. Even singer Finn Keogh sang in an eerily similar intonation to Jacob Slater, as well as commanding the same sort of primal and raw presence onstage. With lots of energy and tunes that many knew the lyrics to sing along to, it was a great experience. Keo are definitely worth the hype. They’re going places, watch this space.

The Oozes
Back at Revenge, the Oozes seemed a perfect fit for the venue. Resplendent in clown outfits with painted faces to match, the duo performed fast, punky music with lyrics performed at a million miles an hour that were near impossible to understand. The only live elements were drums and vocals, with the rest of the mix being played from a laptop. The duo were great fun and extremely silly, but had serious messages in their anti-establishmentarian music. As singer Tom Gilbert is trans himself, trans rights and health took the forefront of discussions between songs, but the lyrics of each track spoke for itself… if only we could make out what he was saying!

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
With an incredibly long winded name, it’s no wonder Pigs x7 are known for their craziness. With Chalk heaving at full capacity, I was permitted entry at the very last second, entering through the club’s doors just as the band walked onstage. After a powerful intro, the non-stop pit began at the front-centre of the crowd. Moshing along to heavy post-punk, the audience were shrouded in a deluge of fog from the stage as chaos ensued. It was absolutely brutal in there, with many finding themselves sweaty, bruised and with blood in their mouths. Repetitive instrumentals kept the crowd moving at the same high-tempo pace throughout; the sea of people thrashing into one another was exhausting but exhilarating.

The None
Metal project of Bloc Party bassist Gordon Moakes The None played at the same time over at Revenge. Due to the unfortunate clash with Pigs x7 the room was near-empty (the heavy music crowd were mainly at Chalk) but once Pigs x7 had finished around the corner a somewhat larger crowd congregated towards the end. Fronted by Kai Whyte, who shouted into double mics, one with extra reverb and effects, The None were loud and outgoing.

Lynks
Who’s better to headline Revenge than gay icon Lynks? With a hidden identity, the singer is known for his extravagant costumes involving full-face bondage masks. At Mutations he donned a grey and black crop-top tracksuit with outlandish shoulder pads and a black mask to match. Billed as a special guest until the day before, he led the silliest performance of the festival. The staging featured a giant red hand on either side of the stage and each song featured a rehearsed dance with insane choreography, with two backing dancers (the “Lynks shower gels”). Funny and ridiculous, the music itself was filled to the brim with sexual references alongside club instrumentals which led to the crowd partying throughout the set. Singalong bangers like ‘Silly Boy’ and ‘Str8 Acting’ were interspersed with more novelty songs. ‘Tennis Song’ involved the shower gels batting foam tennis balls into the audience as Lynks sang. In the most nonsensical part of the set, ‘How to Make a Béchamel Sauce in 10 Steps (With Pictures)’ was exactly as it sounded. After a short cooking tutorial, new track ‘I didn’t come here for art’ was previewed a week before its release. Lynks live is incredible, very silly and so much fun.

After 10pm, almost every venue closed its doors and festivalgoers headed to either Dust or Hope & Ruin. Given that the curfew for all other venues was so early, the queues to the only two remaining (much smaller) venues open were ridiculously long. After Lambrini Girls ended at Chalk 15 minutes before their scheduled end time, it was impossible to get a spot in Dust for many who were travelling early from other venues for the entirety of the next act, as hundreds joined the back of the line for the venue around the corner immediately after exiting.

Scaler
Luckily, I was able to enter Dust for the final half of Scaler (fka Scalping) for their live rock/rave music. Blending dance music and dark indie rock, deep bass and drums matched the repetitive refrains. The crowd here was lively and danced like nobody was watching, and, despite the cold outside, Scaler were well worth the wait.

2025’s edition of Mutations was a strong end to the year’s festival calendar. With amazing artists, respectful crowds and a lovely atmosphere that matched the vibe of the city, the festival has placed itself at the forefront of its kind alongside larger multi-venue festivals in the area such as Great Escape. Timings ran smoothly and venue staff were very friendly, and despite a fair few clashes it was incredibly easy to move between venues in no time at all. Mutations was simply a lovely way to spend a November weekend. Super early bird tickets for next year’s edition are now on sale.