Rebecca King's EP launch was a varied
and vibrant affair, with a variety of performers and styles bouncing
around the room, there was something for everyone. The diversity of
the event was particularly apparent in the audience that accumulated,
with people from all walks of life there to support her, the night
proved to be a really great one.
Kicking off the proceedings was
relatively unknown ALICE MACEY who's sweet vocals welcomed the
audience to a night of entertainment. Her vocals were strong, and the
higher registers were delicate and well controlled, whereas the lower
registers were powerful and sometimes belted, which worked well for
her music. She is a solo singer-songwriter, and accompanies herself
on the guitar, which she is confident with. The second number she
sang showed a real consideration to song structure as she strummed
the guitar quite heavily, whilst singing delicately over the top,
which worked really well with the floating melodies and sweet country
style of singing. Although she has an Americana country style vocal,
she also writes more pop style songs, which have good chord
progressions and interesting melodies. The last two tracks of her set
particularly stood out to me, with Receptions, an
original number which took a darker and sadder turn that the previous
songs. Aside from the slight technical difficulties at the beginning,
she recovered well and hurled straight back into it. The tone of her
vocals are clear and crisp, which cuts through the strummed guitar.
Her melodies are sort of cheerful over sadder chords, but the lyrics
also remain a little blue with lines such as “I never
understood why you were never on my side”.
She is very comfortable in the higher registers, and thats obviously
where her vocals sit naturally, however I would quite like to hear
some of the lower registers in the vocals too, as I think this could
add more variety to her melodic lines. The final song of the evening
called Pocket is fast
paced and lively, ending the set on a cheerier note. The fingerpicked
guitar and fast paced vocal lines and lyrics make this stand out from
the others. The verses build nicely, and enter into a catchy chorus,
with lovely lyrics such as “I won't give up on you, I
won't stop loving everything you do, keep me close in your pocket”
which complement her sweet stage presence and vocals. It was a
pleasure watching Alice perform, and I hope to see her more
frequently on the Nottingham music scene in the near future.
Next
to take the stage is the lovely JAMIE MOON, who I saw perform before
at the Josh Wheatley EP launch (he's a fan of EP launches,
apparently!), and he blew me away. This proved to be another great
gig from Jamie, and opening with Bite The Wax,
he began a strong set. His deep toned fingerpicked guitar is gentle
but commanding, which had the power to silence the room. He commands
the guitar well, producing some gorgeous, clear harmonics which
contrast the deep, gritty vocals nicely. The unforced vocals are sad
and contemplative, which makes for a really emotional performance.
Although the room was a little sparse, he still makes an effort to
connect with his audience by making eye contact, and is very
connected to his performance. He followed the opening track with Cold
Hand, which really flaunts his
songwriting technique, with the fingerpicked guitar balancing well
with the vocals, and the guitar melodies rising and falling, and
echoing the vocal melodies in the chorus, which is a gorgeous effect.
Another
original You'll Never Fool My Heart Again
follows, where the rumbling fingerpicked guitar forms a musical
backdrop to heartbreaking lyrics and vocals, and the passion in his
performance is really apparent in this number, as the vocals are
starkly honest and sad. Next Jamie plays Atom,
another song which contains some of those beautiful guitar harmonics
which enhance Jamie's songs loveliness. Again the guitar parts and
the vocal melodies interact well and the falling melodies express his
sadness. Momentum picks up during the chorus though, as the pace
speeds up slightly, demonstrating passion in what he's singing. There
is a definite sense of desperation, only heightened by lyrics such
as; “you'll never understand me, I'll never underestimate
your love.” Jamie ends his set
on Bloom, in which he
uses his guitar strings percussively and minimally as an intro, which
is a subtle technique, but before long it picks up into fingerpicked
melodies. His vocals are slower, and simple which allow for the
guitar to come through and carry them. The song frequently ducks in
and out of sections, and just as it gets sleepy, it picks up again,
keeping the attention on him. The unsettled nature of these
transitions cushion the anxious lyrics perfectly; “sometimes
I lie awake staring at the walls. Each night is darker still just
before the dawn.” Jamie Moon
performed a brilliant, heartfelt and gentle set which was just
gorgeous.
As the sets finish
and the stage is prepared for another artist, Kane Ashmore plays the
disc jockey role, playing classic hip hop in between the artists,
which for the first part of the evening feels a little bit odd, as it
is rather far away from what they play themselves, however, it keeps
the audience's mind on Rebecca King and Kane Ashmore's collaborations
and their separate EP's which are more along the pop/hip hop vibes.
Next to take to the
stage is LEE GOUGH, who picked up the pace with some classic rock,
acoustic and pop inspired songs. Opening with Under The Raincloud,
it's a passionate performance with a really strong vocal delivery,
which is powerful. The repeated “follow me” in the chorus adds
some intense rhythmic development which works very well. As the song
progresses, he begins to really put some oomph into his vocals,
belting lyrics across the room, but he still manages to maintain
excellent control of his voice, and manages to stay in tune, which is
admirable! It's no surprise to me that after the number, as he
prepares for the next, he announces that he got “a bit carried
away”, however it to me just seemed like a very confident, and
enthusiastic performance.
Next he played Dry
Your Tears, a song about how we take things for granted when there
are people a lot worse off than us. The chorus in this number is
catchy, and I think it's endearing that Lee doesn't overuse his
powerful belt, and varies his singing style and tailors his voice to
the different sections of the song. This lets us experience a little
of his vulnerable side as well as the strength of his pop style belt.
Lee continued to navigate his way through a great set of powerful
songs, laced with hints of rock, pop, soul and classic acoustic
music. Lee is a big fan of strumming the guitar though, and I do feel
like I would like to hear a bit more variation in the guitar parts,
such as some more fingerpicking.
Lee
Gough ends his set on a song entitled Legends, where he really takes
a soul/pop musical stance. In the chorus we hear the lyrics “legends
of music, leave us with their legacies, so we can be free, so we can
be free”. He sings about the loss of artists such as Bob Marley,
John Lennon, Amy Winehouse, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and how
their deaths are tragedies. In some ways the song is sad and
contemplative, mourning the musicians, but at the same time it can be
uplifting, and looking forward. This is embodied lyrically in the
final line, where Lee sings “although they are gone,
they'll live forever”.
Next
to take to the stage is KANE ASHMORE himself, also releasing his new
EP, and producing Rebecca King's album too. He is joined for most of
the set by MOTORMOUF, a local Nottingham beatbox artist, and together
they pretty much go into a jam on the stage. They are both relaxed
and comfortable, and I think that for this rap/hip hop music, it
works well to have a relaxed atmosphere on stage. They have a history
of working and performing together, and on stage they seem to be
connected, and their synchronicity is evidence of great musicianship.
Last Year is a chilled
way to ease us into his set, with hazy keys and a heavy rhythm
section, with a nice repeated chord sequence which remains unchanged
through the verse/chorus sections. This gives the track a nice lull,
and an ebb and flow which lends itself to the overlaying rap, which
Kane raps passionately about his journey in the last year; “last
year was a good year - great year. I made a name for myself on the
stage here. Met some legendary folk and we exchanged beers, this
city's alright, I might stay here.”
Next up is a rendition of The Ashmore Show,
which he announces before performing that he hates it, but still
performs it because everyone likes it. Motormouf joins him on this
one, joining him on certain lyrics, and adding beatbox techniques
over the top. As Kane doesn't really want to perform it, they both
kind of spoof it, and play with the track, which is fun and
entertaining for the audience. Although there is a lot of fun and
games in this performance, the track does flaunt Kane's deep vocals,
and his lower register singing voice, which is lush and has a
gorgeous tone.
Next
up, Kane battles balloons whilst spitting bars, providing a social
commentary on England, and the capitalist society we live in, with
large statements such as; “England today is like the
slave trade” and passionate
delivery, it packs a punch, despite the audience's assault of
balloons! Scribbling and Dribbling
follows, and Kane informs us it's not been performed in a while. Both
Ashmore and Motormouf have a great presence on the stage, this song
being a traditional pairing of the two of them. If you've heard
Ashmore recently at all, you may have heard Misfit,
a playful song about being a misfit, but this time it was performed
like never before. I had only heard this song performed with an
acoustic guitar accompaniment, and it's often performed with the
assistance of Motormouf, however this time it was performed with a
backing track, and it's clear that Kane is enthusiastic about the
track, and seems to be really enjoying himself. The song has more of
the gypsy balkan style musical influences that Ashmore uses
frequently in this work, and it adds that sprinkle of personality and
an edge to the music which is enticing. The backing track is superb,
and really brings out new elements of the music, and especially
flaunts Kane's vocals.
Kane
launches into another off his new EP, and it's the title track
Loonyology. The track
has a cheeky brass opening, channeling the “gypsy
flavour”. The rhythm section
in the backing track gives it a secure hip hop identity. There is
also a very heavy bass part in the track which is more noticeable
live than on the EP, which is sometimes a little distracting from the
performance. I really like the construction of the song and the
chorus in which Loonyology
is spelled out, it adds a great playfulness which ties in with the
jazz/swing inspired backing track. Sounds
follows, another from his new EP. Sounds
is a track about trying to suss out the life around you, and working
out what you crave; “life is a struggle, but you've got
to keep going, losing your cares, keep the happiness going”.
The song has a caribbean/reggae feel to it, but with classic hip hop
beats. It's nice to hear Kane's singing voice during the chorus, and
it sounds totally lovely too, sweet but with an edge too.
Ashmore's
tracks are all so widely different, they are all very varied, with
different influences and production which separates them from
eachother but one thing which connects them all are their references
to previous works, there are occasional phrases and words thrown
which makes you prick your ears. Another track which does this is
Gypsy Grime, which is
playful and has Kane's unique stamp of well, Gypsy Grime, but has
Motormouf joining him too. On the EP, Motormouf is featured, and
Ashmore announces that this is the first time the track has been
performed live. It's a great, lively and energetic track, which
brings out ther personalities and is very enjoyable to watch live, as
well as listen to on the EP. My Town follows,
which has always been performed acoustically and hasn't been produced
before, but the backing track for it is really great, with a simple
bass and rhythm based track, but with added piano chords which forms
an excellent base on which Kane sings. It's soulful and powerful, and
lovely hearing his voice on show. The song has a great movement and
catchy melodies, and the whole song certainly is “bound
to get you jumping up and down”.
Kane
steps off the stage after My Town,
allowing Motormouf to beatbox to his hearts content on the stage,
throwing out some of his trademark moves, such as the boomerang.
After Motormouf finishes his small solo set, Kane is joined by
Rebecca King for the final song of the set. Crumbling Down
opens with Kane rapping, over a
backing track which is subtle and minimal. Rebecca is miming along,
showing she's just as invested in the song as he is, and then she
erupts into soulful singing during the chorus, which is sultry and
slow. Her vocals are also present in the backing track, which creates
a really interesting layering to the song. As the set opened in a
chilled manner, it ends that way too. They work so well together, and
they complement eachother's styles well.
Next on The
Lacehouse stage is ED SCISSORTONGUE, a rapper based in London, who
combines various styles and techniques in his backing tracks, which
are intelligent and interesting. He has an intriguing use of words
and constructs wordy phrases which are great to latch on to during
the chilled, vibrant backing tracks. He has a great stage presence,
and often has his eyes closed, which adds to the intensity of his
tracks. He layers the backing tracks well, with deep bass tones
complemented and contrasted by higher pitched melodies on synthesised
instruments, such as strings and keys. The layering provides a good
structure on which his deep rap vocals shine, and pulse through. His
tracks are varied in topic, including singing about the faults of the
human race whilst letting a narrative fantasy play out about an
android colliding with earth and wiping out all life. It's poignant
and creative, and accompanied with a backing track which has a really
clever use of strings being both bowed and plucked. It's sombre and
powerful.
Changing it up from
the sombre strings, the track to the next number is heavily
electronic, which is intense and full of angst. The backing develops
well, and becomes busier and this enhances the turbulent undertones
of the music. The brass samples which feature in Ed Scissortongue's
tracks are really good, and the manipulation of these samples is
particularly effective. In fact, the general manipulation of all the
instruments featured is a key element to the set which I enjoyed. It
may have something to do with the idea of intrinsically editing the
instruments sound, and creating something new and almost faulty with
it. It's unsettling but in an awesome way. The next track has very
repetitive piano samples, which are intense, and combined with more
brass it makes for a very interesting track. This song in particular
has some excellent song progressions, and the added rhythm section is
made more prominent by the rhythms of his vocal rap. After this, he
announces that he wants to “pick the f**king party up”, and
launches into the next number, which has a deafening, piercing hi hat
beat, which punches through the backing and the rap. I like this one
though, and the repeated chorus “so meet me at the rose garden”
is really great to attach yourself to. The backing drops out here and
there, and leaves space, making it really prominent when Ed comes
back in with the vocals. It's a great technique and with the
punchiness of the hi hat works even better.
After being joined
by a guest on stage, he launches into the final track of the evening.
The backing on this track in particular, but even on the others
reminds me of the music used by Pina Bausch in her intense dance
theatre productions, and this is due to the manipulated keys and
strong rhythmic backing. The track is an excellent accompaniment to
the rapped vocals, providing a secure but vulnerable musical
environment. The final track is reminiscent of the past, and is about
an amalgumation of Ed's past friends, but for the purpose of the
track he's created one fictional friend. It's a social commentary
looking at the situation of the youth in this country who are stuck
in poverty, with references made to buying cheap alcohol and hanging
out in council flats etc, which makes for a passionate and informed
delivery. When the track finishes, the crowd demands an encore, which
Ed Scissortongue provides, announcing that the track is “near
impossible to rap”. This being because the phrases are long, and
his breathing has to be spot on to enable him to even get all the
words in. It has an intense chord structure, and this intensity is
increased with the elongated phrases and 'on edge' delivery. It's a
fantastic set, which brought my understanding of hip hop to a whole
new level, and I love being challenged musically, and this certainly
opened my eyes.
Finally,
the last but certainly not least to take to the stage is the person
who the whole evening is focused on. REBECCA KING steps up to begin
her glorious performance, opening with Come to Life,
which is captivating and a fantastic way to grab the audience's
attention. We certainly do watch her “come to life”,
as she stands alone on the stage in a beautiful red asymmetrical
dress, again bringing in an edge to classiness. The backing is
complementary to her vocal style of singing, using an interesting
electronic sample during the chorus which mimics her vocals and adds
a flourish to the melodic lines. It's a lively and passionate opener,
leading on nicely to her slower second number which is sultry,
singing “gripping my curves as we twist and turn”. It's sensual,
and the backing is wonderfully suited to it. The performance is made
more intense by her connection with the audience, making eye contact
and bringing the audience closer to her. Her vocals are stunning,
with brilliant control of the higher registers, whilst her chest
voice is powerful and gripping. As she sings she dances a little on
the stage, making hand gestures and physically becoming involved in
the music, which brings out the soulful nature of her songs.
Her
next track she announces “I always say I play this song because I
wrote it for my son and I really love it. But I did write it for my
son and I really love it, so I'm going to play it”. It's a
heartfelt and gorgeous rendition of Race the Earth,
and it's beautiful watching her performing something which means
such a lot to her. She is thoroughly engaged in the track, and she is
evidently enjoying herself too. Opening lines “I was drawn in by
your stare, encaptured by your touch. You captivate me when you hold
me, tight within your clutch” are sung to a simple melody, making
the words even more prominent. The purity and delicacy of her vocals
are contrasted and complemented by the electronic backing, in which
synths race over the top of the vocals, and combined with the earthly
title, can't help but remind me of shooting stars. The song develops
nicely, with a gradual build in texture and vocals, which bursts with
passion and heartfelt soul.
Another
older track follows, and she brings it from a high to a low, with a
sorrowful, painful and intense performance of Because You
Lied. The chorus in this song is
particularly heart wrenching, as she places “lied” on the highest
note, soaking it in heartbreak. The song showcases her vocal
abilities, as at the height of the chorus, she's singing delicately
and beautifully high, whilst in the verses she sings in the lower
registers, which feels sombre and downtrodden. The backing track to
this number is beautiful, with backing vocals coming in and filling
whilst she sings the longer, outstretched notes of “because
you lied” in the chorus. Her
performance is made more poignant by her loneliness on stage, as she
stands there and sings this track on her own, she's vulnerable and
this just adds to the performance.
After
some lighthearted banter, she launches into Say Something,
the final track on her EP. The backing track is relaxed and chilled,
with lovely soft brass, gentle keys and a prominent rhythm section.
The whole song is relaxed, with an expansive chorus of “say
something, or I'm gone, say something”.
The melodies are weighted and sultry and are focused around a few key
notes, which has this oscillating effect, which is heightened by her
smooth, gorgeous vocals. The song develops subtly, and the bridge is
a relaxed change of pace, and as the brass drops out, it allows her
vocals to shine through. The song is spacious, and allows for the
tone of her voice to come through.
This
is followed by Insanity is Bliss,
which picks up the pace of the set, livening it up and bringing more
of a funk/pop influence to the set. The bouncy melody of the chorus
is cheerful and lively, which contrasts the lyrics “insanity
is bliss trying to get you out of my head”.
This is followed by About to Fall,
a soulful and romantic, which is sung with vigour and emotion. The
song is sexy and relaxed, but the lyrics focus on the dilemmas of
falling for someone “I hear your footsteps as you're
coming up the stairs, I hold my breath like all of the tainted
secrets yeah yeah. You release the curiosity inside of me, why does
something so wrong feel so right”.
The verse is full of passionate vocal flourishes, decorating the song
with classic pop and soul “yeahs”
and “oohs” which
are fun and flirtatious. The chorus then erupts, both in the vocals
and the backing, with multiple layering of instrumentation, such as
piano, brass and synths. The vocals are fluid and explorative, with
layering of other melodies over the elongated “about to
fall” lyric. It's a relaxed
and open song, and is beautifully performed.
The
next two tracks are also the following two tracks on the EP; Appetite
For You and Damn It I
Do. The former is a bit more
aggressive, it is forward and Rebecca King is upfront about her
emotions “your fire is so exhilarating, I want to get
burned”. The nature of the
song is much more animalistic, singing “I have an appetite for you”
repeatedly in the chorus, reiterating her point, and singing sweetly
and flirtatiously to the audience, it's great to watch her. Damn It I
Do isn't a new number, it's a classic of Rebecca's. But for the EP is
has been re-realised into a swing/soul/hip hop fusion number. With
the chorus of “damn it I do”
being sung in a more classic jazz style, followed by muted, hazy
brass creating a seductive, classy, jazzy feel. There is also a
soulful bridge, where the backing drops out, and the only thing to
accompany Rebecca is the clicking of her fingers and the backing
“oooohs”. It's a
gorgeous version, with beautiful production (hats off to Kane
Ashmore), and it was performed wonderfully.
The
set ends with Stumbling Again,
where Rebecca King is joined by Kane Ashmore, and they just have a
playful jam on stage with the song. The subtle brass in the verse is
funky and provides a great backing for the vocals to explore. The
song's chorus is particularly clever with the lyric “stumbling
again” matched to a falling,
stumbling melody. It's a dance inspiring number, evidently from the
dancing and jamming that Kane and Rebecca are doing on stage. It's a
fun, happy and optimistic, encapsulating everything that the evening
proved to be. All the acts rocked the stage, and Rebecca closed the
evening with a gorgeous, beautiful and soulful set, which I'll
remember for a long time to come.
By Cassia Helme
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