Earlier this year, FACT’s John Twells and Bryan McKay headed to Montreal with local FACT contributor Son Raw for MUTEK, and talked to a handful of artists about the nature of live performance.

Dublin-based duo Lakker are a rarity. They combine head-pummeling techno with the frazzled indulgence of IDM without losing momentum and expanded their sound into glorious widescreen on this year’s epic Struggle & Emerge full-length.

When they perform live, some of that album’s dense soundscapes are stripped back to reveal punishing rhythmic tracks, and the propulsive bass and tweaked, complex rhythms are pushed right to the front.

The duo describes the process of translating their glacial studio productions into a live experience as a “weird, contrived process”, but they’ve managed to integrate their Ableton Live set with vocal clips, samples and devastating visuals. The result is crushing.

Struggle & Emerge is out on R & S Records now.

Directed by Bryan McKay. Interview by Son Raw. Shot by Bryan McKay and John Twells. Produced by John Twells.