With two drummers facing each other on either side of the stage, SWX had shades of the Lion King setup at the nearby Hippodrome for Jordan Rakei's Tuesday night gig.
And some of the music transported listeners to the Savanna too, particularly Mantra , the stunning slow builder from the talented 27-year-old's most recent album, Origin .
After moving to London from Australia four years ago, the multi-instrumentalist with a silky smooth voice is finally starting to garner the kind of recognition he deserves.
Focusing on Rakei's visions of a future dystopian world, tracks on Origin were made with live performances in mind and that became evident at his SWX performance.
Standout songs from the acclaimed LP including Rolling Into One , Say Something and Wildfire all sounded even better live and went down well with the respectful, multi-generational crowd.
There was space for some old favourites in the set too, with the dreamy Alright and Add the Bassline from debut EP Groove Curse both proving to be highlights.
This was Rakei's third performance in Bristol this year and his second at SWX following his headline appearance at Dot to Dot in May, but it was evident that he loves playing here.
Words were few and far between from the reserved New Zealander but he took time to offer some praise for Bristol and appeared to be overjoyed at the crowd's rapturous applause following the encore of Mind's Eye .
Jordan Rakei is an artist who is improving both in the studio and in a live sense. If you get an opportunity to catch him perform near you, don't waste it.
