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Day: 19 May 2015

Club: Selective Hearing x Project 13 presents Livity Sound & Tessela

Written by Patrick Hinton on . Posted in Music.

8th May

Warehouse Location

7.5/10

Secret warehouse locations are very much on-trend for Manchester promoters currently. The recent spate may come across as slightly gimmicky to some, but in an industrial city that isn’t blessed with a large number of good mid-sized clubs, finding an unused warehouse space and whacking in a big sound system makes sense. Tonight’s space on the edge of New Islington fits the bill perfectly: it’s loud, intimate, and there’s even nice toilets.

Bristol based Livity Sound – consisting of Asusu, Kowton and Peverelist – are responsible for some of the most forward-thinking releases to hit clubs in recent years, and their club-focused approach shines through in their djing.

Techno takes prominence in their selections. Shed’s ‘Kinky Dudes’ sets the tone early on before Barnt’s irresistible ‘Chappell’ slams the room into submissive movement. Asusu delves into the label’s output, drawing for A Made Up Sound’s remix of ‘Velez’, whilst Kowton takes things slightly more left-field with an airing of S-X’s grime classic ‘Woo Riddim’. The trio rotate around the decks, maintaining a high intensity throughout the three hours. This is upped considerably by the powerful strobe that is unleashed to striking effect, blinding everybody behind a disorientating wall of bright light.

Fellow west-country native Tessela then takes over for the final two hours, immediately making his presence known with the pummelling ‘Gateway’. The bar is set, and then raised with high energy tracks such as Kevin Saunderson’s ‘Warp’. Not even a brief power cut can rein in Tessela’s momentum; sound is quickly restored and he continues unabated until close.

Club: High Hoops presents DJ Sprinkles

Written by Patrick Hinton on . Posted in Music.

15th May

Roadhouse

“Music is usually one of the least interesting things about clubs” said Terre Thaemlitz aka DJ Sprinkles to The Guardian last year. She rails against faceless club culture, charging her music with sociological and psychological themes. Deep house musically, but in a philosophical sense as well.

It’s a special event, then, that High Hoops have booked the renowned DJ for the first time in Manchester. Sprinkles steps up at 1am and proceeds to inspire an atmosphere of joyous community to those assembled in Roadhouse with some achingly beautiful deep house sounds.

Selecting the likes of her Adultnapper remix ‘Low Point On High Ground (Rock Bottom mix)’, it’s not a set that inspires wild euphoric movement, and that’s the point. Instead, the piano chords resonate through the room, producing a more deep-rooted emotional connect.

The crowd is affected beyond sonically induced limb reflex, but that’s not to say this is lacking. Sprinkles’s selections are very danceable, punctuated by subtle but driving bass notes that keep the room moving.

Sprinkles maintains this atmosphere throughout her three hour set, marking tonight as one of the most unique clubbing experiences I’ve had.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZdVi9f20cg

Live: J. Cole

Written by Dinesh Mattu on . Posted in Music.

14th May

Manchester Arena

7.5/10

Some eight or so years ago, a kid with a dollar and a dream hailing from a small town called Fayetteville, North Carolina set up Dreamville Records, and on it released his first mixtape The Come Up. Today he stands as the label head and mentor to signees Cozz, Bas & Omen, as well as being friends with rapper Pusha T and singer Jhene Aiko. On his biggest tour to date, J. Cole brings them all along for a journey that takes it back to his childhood home in Fayetteville: 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

Cozz and Bas are the only names among the Dreamville collective who are of note. Cozz’s ‘Knock The Hustle Remix’, and Bas’s ‘Lit’ and ‘Just Made Bail’ (which all feature Cole) as expected go down very well with the crowd.

The ever-excitable Pusha T is next up, opening with ‘King Push’, grunting and grimacing his way through a half hour set that includes Kanye collaborations ‘Runaway’, ‘So Appalled’, ‘Mercy’, and ‘Don’t Like’, which all receive the biggest receptions. The bass heavy sound at the Arena suits his angst-filled sound down to a tee. It’s interesting to note that he doesn’t rap over instrumentals, rather he performs over original tracks which give the songs a weird echo during his set. He appears strangely out of breath and seems as though he’s losing his voice on most of his songs. For a guy that raps about dealing cocaine and headbutting his side bitches his demeanour feels a little fatigued. He rounds off his set on a high nonetheless with fan favourites ‘Nosetalgia’ and ‘Numbers On the Board’ (complete with angry headbutt).

In complete contrast, Jhene Aiko’s performance is more dream catchers, floral harems and finding your spirituality than headbutts and cocaine. Her delicate vocals aren’t suited to bass-heavy Arena level sound, and for an artist who is nothing short of angelic through headphones, her vocals are pretty weak in person. ‘Bed Peace’, ‘The Worst’ and a groovy six-string rendition of Drake feature ‘From Time’ all give the crowd something to sing along to, mind you.

9:25pm sees the curtains rise revealing a full band, including Cole’s long-time selector DJ Dummy on the decks. Out steps J. Cole to his adoring fans, as he asks “Do you wanna, do you wanna be happy?” the first words of the album and the intro to ‘January 28th’. His rough hair and unkempt beard are a reflection of the exhaustion and frustration he feels about the “Hollywood lifestyle,” which he makes us very aware of during his monologue interludes throughout the gig.

The announcement that he will perform his entire album from front to back is met my by welcoming cries, however it means he’ll miss out earlier material such as ‘Who Dat’, ‘Let Nas Down’ and ‘Before I’m Gone’. It’s not all doom and gloom however, as he incorporates ‘Lights Please’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘Crooked Smile’ to please his pre-2015 fans.

Cole has reached a point now where his back catalogue is so big that he can’t play everyone’s favourite song anymore. Although the stage is bigger and the lights are brighter, the integrity, honesty and energy are exactly the same. It is pertinent that Cole has an obvious message in view of the success he’s garnered, and one which is a clear middle finger to the money, fame and phony people he’s come into contact with over the past few years.

He expands on the subject in the run up to ‘No Role Modelz’ stating that the song is about a girl who chases a life of fame and believes in her fictitious happiness; in reality she is aloof, lost and unable to help herself. In a similar vein, ‘St Tropez’ is a highlight, admitting whilst he couldn’t point it out on a map, the high life in the south of France isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
His honesty is admirable and his sensitivity is emotional; his charm and charisma overall make him a superb performer. Given the noticeable amount of empty seats, you can’t help but feel his intimate act would feel more at home in a smaller venue.

Live: Super Furry Animals

Written by Sam Anderson on . Posted in Music.

6th May

Albert Hall

8/10

Super Furry Animals played a two hour set to a sold out Albert Hall. Emerging in boiler suits to rousing applause, the band opened with ‘(A) Touch Sensitive’, a lyricless track from their 2001 album Rings Around the World. SFA rose to prominence at the height of Britpop, and whilst lacking the anthemic qualities of their contemporaries, they approach music in an experimental and progressive manner that few bands can rival.

Playing their first gigs in five years, the band showed their musical depth early on. Moving on from the heavier, psychedelic sounds of Rings Around The World, they utilised a trumpet and a saxophone to create a carnival atmosphere during ‘Northern Lites’ from the 1999 album Guerilla.

During the first half of the gig, the crowd were a little quiet and subdued. This was no fault of the band, who were excellent throughout. SFA have a loyal fan base that have aged with them; the lull in atmosphere could be attributed to many audience members having to be up early for a school run, work or both. This is not a slight on the audience either, with middle age comes responsibility.

The Furries then played four consecutive tracks from their pioneering Welsh language album Mwng, which has been reissued for 2015. On the eve of a general election, the tracks took on a new significance. Mwng provides a perfect example of how music can be used to protect, negotiate and celebrate languages and identities that are underrepresented and threatened. This is against a backdrop of parties holding nationalist ideologies who seem set to shake up the political establishment.

‘Hello Sunshine’ provided an acoustic sing-a-long, but it wasn’t until lead singer Gruff Rhys left the stage and re-emerged in a red helmet that proceedings really got going. Standing in a pulpit adorned with snakes he delivered the auto-tuned ‘Juxtaposed With U’. After the band’s biggest hit ‘Golden Retriever’, Rhys – a man of few words – acknowledged the crowd’s increasing energy.

Rhys revealed his political allegiances, dedicating ‘Fire In My Heart’ to Ed Miliband. The band finished with anti-establishment closer ‘The Man Don’t Give a Fuck’. Returning to the stage adorned in Yeti outfits, joined by a crab and a banana, the band then played a final encore before leaving the stage to thunderous applause.

SFA will have been gutted with the results of the general election, but on Wednesday’s evidence, if you vote with your feet and give them a watch, you won’t be disappointed.

Album: Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool

Written by Joe C. Evans on . Posted in Music.

Released June 22nd, 2015

Dirty Hit

7/10

Wolf Alice are a band that are difficult to pin down. Having been described as “the lovechild of folk and grunge” they suffer from the kind of comparisons that evoke much but tell you precious little. With this in mind, the announcement of their first album My Love Is Cool makes for an interesting sonic experience like nothing else.

First track ‘Turn To Dust’ confirms this. Combining folk inspired guitar with a transcendental vocal line and backwards guitar effects, the track gives little indication of what is to come – “Keep your beady eyes on me” singer Ellie Rowsell demands. In their debut release Wolf Alice have certainly produced an album with a diversity that requires your attention.

Following the floaty soundscapes of the opening track ‘Your Loves Whore’ and ‘You’re A Germ’ offer the driving indie rock their names suggest. On these tracks the grunge influence on the band comes through; Rowsell displays a totally different side to her vocal range. The abrasiveness of Siouxsie Sioux exploited here offers a stark juxtaposition with to the Laura Marling-esque melodies of track one.

On ‘Silk’ the bands tendency to write songs with the intention of big choruses does begin to grow slightly tiresome. This however becomes less an issue when followed up by ‘Giant Peach’ – the album’s first single is propelled by a driving guitar riff that harks back to grunge bands of the early 90’s. It’s clearly the album’s stand out track and an obvious choice for the lead single.

‘Swallowtail’ and ‘Soapy Water’ are both a welcome return to the ambience of ‘Turn To Dust’. The latter track exhibits the band’s clear ability to write infectious pop melodies. Here, Rowsell’s voice is again the stand out aspect of the song. The album ends with a whimper rather than a bang, with final track ‘The Wonderwhy’ appearing slightly toothless alongside the album’s better songs.

While the album is by no means perfect, what Wolf Alice have produced is an exciting addition to the guitar driven music scene. The band have shown themselves to be capable of producing something interesting, which in a scene that is saturated with brainless distortion and heartless lyrics, puts them in a commanding position of authority.

Live: Stornoway

Written by Paul Norris on . Posted in Music.

7th May

Gorilla

9/10

Indie folk outfit Stornoway provide a magnificently intimate set at Gorilla following the release of their third album Bonxie last month. The album is a continuation of the organic and wholesome sound that typifies Stornoway and opener ‘Between the Saltmarsh and the Sea’ from the new album starts with an intriguing boat horn and develops into a warm and uplifting ballad. From this point it is clear how well Stornoway engage with the audience with their heartfelt connectivity blended with just a hint of Southern-English polite humour, mostly in the form of jokes about birds.

However, it is not until their older song ‘Boats and Trains’ that the audience comes alive with seemingly everyone singing along to the slow tempo number, a song that demonstrates the purity of singer and guitarist Brian Briggs’s voice. ‘The Road You Didn’t Take’ is a stand out song from the new record with stripped back acoustic guitar and wonderful harmonies building into a full singalong for the crowd.

Unlike many gigs there wasn’t a dip in energy through the middle of the set and in fact, perhaps the best moment came during this period as the band put down their instruments and gathered around one microphone to perform an absolutely stunning rendition of ‘Josephine’. With simply a guitar and vocal harmonies the folksy love song oozes intimacy and shows how accomplished the whole band are as musicians. The mood continues with older songs ‘Fuel Up’ and ‘Zorbing’ that are still fresh and are wonderful singalongs. The crowd are then treated to a somewhat tongue-in-cheek cover of Yazz’s ‘The Only Way Is Up’ to round off a truly fantastic set, which should only signal continued success for the Oxford band.

Club: Road to Ibiza presents Sidney Charles b2b Santé b2b Darius Syrossian

Written by Bradley West on . Posted in Music.

May 1st

South

4/10

Arriving at South the first thing that I saw was someone getting turned away, a surprise considering the reasons behind the change of venue from Sankeys. Ignoring the obvious odd start, my first impressions of what was resounding up from the volume-bent basement that is South were good.

Santé was commanding the decks as I arrived, and was playing out some smooth, soulful house that set a relaxed mood, something that was welcome for the setting. For the 20 minutes after this there was a taste of all three of the ex-Tribal Sessions team of Sidney Charles, Santé, and the now infamous Darius Syrossian, who gifted the crowd with techy basslines, ‘shuffley’ house and huge kick drums respectively.

Disappointingly though, this variety quickly stopped, to be replaced by what can only be described as homogenous, shitty tech house. Recently, George Fitzgerald called tech house out for being repetitive and anonymous; on hearing this, I thought he was being a bit of a prima donna, but this night absolutely proved his point. After the initial 20 minutes of variation there was suddenly no discernible difference between tracks, not in an artistic sense of perfectly blending them, more that every one had the same formulaic, four-to-the-floor, 123bpm bassline, now synonymous of lazy tech house. To make things worse, there wasn’t really any inventiveness on show, no builds over multiple tracks or careful song selection, just over use of a hi-pass filter.

In fairness to the #BROSOVEREUROS trio, they were only catering to their crowd. It’s just a shame that the crowd appeared to have almost all had the mother of all pills and were showcasing their best dead-eyed shuffle. The one saving grace of the night for me was how happy the three DJs seemed to be to be playing together. Regardless of what they were playing, they were doing it together, something that they fought to do, and definitely deserve commendation for.

Live: By The Rivers

Written by Marina Garvey Birch on . Posted in Music.

28th April

Night and Day

8/10

By The Rivers are a 6-piece Brit reggae band hailing from Leicester. Oozing with young energy but offering effortless musical talent, By The Rivers had the crowd in the palm of their hand on Wednesday 28th April. Supported by Jeramiah Ferrari, a reggae group from our very own Manchester, the night was filled with easy going reggae rhythms, creating a soothing session of bass and improvisation.

The more popular tracks such as ‘Rock Steady’ and ‘Harsh Times’ were winners for the clearly besotted fans, whilst the solid bass lines and fantastic improvisations from a recently added trumpet player urged many bystanders to get a bit closer and have a dance.

The band does not conform to one distinct style, highlighting each player as an individual and completely rejecting a uniformed ‘boyband’ approach. The lead-singer delivered beautiful vocals with an almost choir boy high tone that raise the more repetitive bass lines into songs of musicality. Meanwhile the saxophonist and trumpet player were grooving on down at the back of the stage. The only thing I would have liked to see was all the musicians given the foregrounding they deserved. Each band-member brought something different to gig, and deserved the same central focus as the keyboard and lead guitar.

Other hits including ‘Holding’ and ‘You Got It Wrong’ show the bands understanding of not only the simplest of reggae rhythms but also how to weave notes of funk and real groove into the pieces. Another thing was that the band clearly loved every second, which was great to watch and only lifted the performance higher. The set seemed to finish quickly but an encore was more than welcome and the boys said goodbye to Manchester to a soundtrack of screams, cheers and huge applause. Playing festivals The Zombie, and Shambala this year will see the boys crack on with spreading their feel good reggae tunes.

Live: Smoke Fairies

Written by Timur Mehr on . Posted in Music.

29th April

Ritz

5/10

Public Service Broadcasting was prefaced with a never-ending whining by the Smoke Fairies. Very early in the evening (half seven) they were on stage at the Ritz – not many people had arrived by then, and those who had were not pissed, so it was a hard game once again for a supporting act.

According to Wikipedia, Smoke Fairies are a British dream pop duo comprising Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies. But as soon as they strike their first chord on their guitars, it seems that these girls are not British, but from the Mississipi Delta playing vernacular Blues Rock, with the bends and slides, rocking the pentatonic scale and the bottleneck. It was badassery not introverted shoegazing. There were also three additional fellow musicians being pushed into the background (for not wearing tight silver dresses?); as they appeared to be the only ones smiling occasionally on stage, seemingly enjoying the gig in the vaguest sense in contrast to the front ladies, I thought they shouldn’t be ignored.

Well these girls with their tight, uncomfortable looking dresses were looking uncomfortable performing in front of an audience – with the average person being 30+ years old. Sure it can be cool to look obliviously at your audience with narrow eyes, bored lip movements, and moving your hips with the least effort, but only if you’re Warpaint. Also don’t take up a power stance and clench your fists while singing a very poppy, dramatic middle-8 part, as in ‘Eclipse Them All’; it only stirs up the cringe. These girls were in a bad mood and were very good at spreading it onto the crowd.

To be fair, they had very well written songs. Reminded me of early Black Keys’ albums with a more pop attitude and even more effects. I dug the trippy icy vibes and some bits of their imaginative lyrics, but it seemed they always wanted to sound cliché – cliché blues, cliché pop song structures and cliché take-me-serious-I-am-deep lyrics. They were playing their instruments effortlessly (with some amazing solos), singing pure tone, looking not bothered – in other words everything seemed as if they could do it flawlessly even if you woke them up with a gun shot in the middle of the night – especially the not-bothered-part.

Despite their name they were quite solid. But they drained energy; even when they later performed with Public Service Broadcasting. How is that possible?

Live: Villagers

Written by Cassie Hyde on . Posted in Music.

13th April

RNCM

8/10

Following the release of Villagers’s new album, Darling Arithmetic, his return to live performances can only be described as triumphant.

The whole atmosphere felt chilled and at ease. With the performance taking place at the new theatre in the RNCM, the wonderful acoustics of the room provide the perfect complement to the music being played.

Their new music is stripped back and lyrically intimate. Although Darling Arithmetic is a breakup album, it touches upon frontman Conor O’Brien’s dealings with gay relationships and homophobia (‘Courage’ and ‘Little Bigot’), making the show feel, at times, cathartic. Lyrics such as “It took a little time to be me” on ‘Courage’ were able to give the new material a poignant edge. It felt almost uncomfortable to hear him sing something so personal to himself, but the honesty was both appreciated and rewarding! It was also wise to allow the rest of the band to leave at points during the show; it made sense for songs as intimate as those from Darling Arithmetic to be played solo.

Older material from Awayland and Becoming A Jackal was also revamped with new arrangements. It can be a difficult task to keep old material fresh, one that is easy to mess up, but Villagers achieved this with ease. The new versions managed to both stay true to the originals, whilst still being playful and inventive with the inclusion of horns and even a harp. It’s genuinely refreshing to be able to see such confidence in a performance.

Overall, Villagers were a success. If O’Brien can regularly pull off gigs as good as this one, then he has a long career ahead of him!

Album: Brandon Flowers – The Desired Effect

Written by Dan Whiteley on . Posted in Music.

Released 18th May

Island Records

8/10

Ever since The Killers swapped new wave for fist-pumping stadium anthems on their second album Sam’s Town, much of Brandon Flowers’ output has seen him trying to meld his love for kitschy synthpop with Springsteen-influenced heartland rock to varying degrees (and, arguably, mixed results). With his ludicrously successful day job on hold, however – the rest of the band reportedly wanted a break from their rigorous schedule – Flowers was free to go full pop on his second solo outing, The Desired Effect, an album so indebted to the 80s it could double as a soundtrack to a lost John Hughes movie. And by swapping the biker jacket for a Miami Vice blazer and the desert landscapes for neon lights, he’s also come up with one of his funnest and most enjoyable sets of songs to date.

The record begins in familiar territory with the rousing ‘Dreams Come True’, featuring a now-standard Born To Run, we’ll-get-out-of-here-someday average Joe narrative (“punch the clock on the nightstand”, he sings, “close your eyes waiting for the sandman”) complete with E Street Band brass section, showing the ghost of Bruce is still alive, if a little buried in the mix this time round. The pace soon alters on lead single ‘Can’t Deny My Love’, though – the track is filled with nervous energy, with galloping rhythms, slap bass flourishes, hazy synths and a Haim-esque chorus courtesy of producer Ariel Rechtshaid – think ‘Running Up That Hill’, replacing Kate Bush’s ghostly yelp with Flowers’ trademark bellow.

The rest of the album shows Flowers’ knack for pop hooks and slick, vintage-sounding instrumentation; ‘Lonely Town’, which sounds like an offcut from The Killers’ most playful record Day & Age, is full-on new wave, with layers of old school synths and a euphoric chorus that hides its sinister, stalkerish lyrics, whilst ‘Untangled Love’ is pure drive-time Americana. Other highlights include the defiant pep-talk of ‘Never Get You Right’, and the affecting ‘Between Me and You’, a vulnerable lament on compromise and the harsh realities of adulthood, recalling The 59 Sound-era Gaslight Anthem or Springsteen’s ‘I’m on Fire’ with its rockabilly beat, sparse backing track and wistful melody.

On his solo debut, 2010’s sometimes bland and lukewarmly received Flamingo, it was readily apparent that apart from a couple of highlights (the majestic ‘Only the Young’ and Spanish-tinted ‘Magdalena’) Flowers was holding back, scared to include any future would-be Killers hits in his side project. His decision to go all-in this time, then, was a wise one, and means the album more than holds its own against any of his main band’s releases.

As ever, one of his most endearing qualities is that Flowers has no concept of the overblown, almost cartoonish quality of his writing, which is often plays to his advantage; his lyrics and arrangements verge on clichéd at times, but the conviction in his delivery and his absolute belief in the material manages to carry the songs regardless. Striking just right balance between substance and throwaway appeal, The Desired Effect is pop music done right, and could mark the beginning of his transition from indie rock frontman to consummate pop star.

Interview: Kwabs

Written by Natalie Proctor on . Posted in Music.

Once in a blue moon, a true musical talent will filter through the fine net of consumerism that is placed over the music industry. Kwabs is this talent. The singer/songwriter from London describes music as an art that we need to explore our own emotions, and this sentimentality definitely comes through in his music.

Indeed, Kwabs stated that he has a “natural inclination to put [himself] out there emotionally” with his songs. However, when asked if writing comes naturally to him, he said that “I had a natural knack for it but I had to learn a lot, it was sort of like doing a second degree”. His development as an artist is perhaps most clear in his song ‘Spirit Fade’, which rapper Stormzy dubbed the greatest song ever written. It is also the singer’s favourite, as he said it “feels like it’s the one that describes my music the best”. At his most recent show in Manchester he played the latest songs from his new album Love and War, which certainly profess a similar level of musical and lyrical flair. One to definitely look out for is the song ‘Cheating on Me’, which is yet to be released. When asked about his debut album, Kwabs said “it is an album for people who want to go on a journey and want to listen to music about the mind.”

Kwabs is an up and coming artist, who you will no doubt be seeing a lot more of in coming years. Kwabs has already been booked for Reading and Leeds Festival, and his song ‘Walk’ has already received over 50,000,000 views on YouTube. Kwabs’s unique sound, which he describes as “Alternative Pop”, also demonstrates a wider musical understanding and knowledge. Having studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, receiving the first major in vocals in ten years, Kwabs has been able to truly develop his style. However, when asked what he thought was wrong with the music industry today, Kwabs said that “you don’t get much time to think about who you are as an artist”, and that this can sometimes cause your music to suffer – though Kwabs seems to have managed to stay true to his music.

You may have seen Kwabs on Jools Holland last May, and he told me that this was the highlight of his career so far, revealing that “it was the first time I had to present myself to the general public, and I didn’t really have much time to think about what I was going to do.” Performing for the first time on television alongside such established names as Arcade Fire, Wild Beasts and Sharon Van Etten certainly bodes well for this young artist.

Set in the rather small venue at Gorilla while his band warmed up, I asked Kwabs where he would like to see himself in five years – which seemed an appropriate question given the number of acts who have gone on to make it big after performing at this venue. Kwabs said that “I really just love being able to take my band to some really cool places, so I would like to be just doing what I love still, and maybe having won a few Grammies!”. Indeed, he has already reached some great success in Europe, charting at number one in Germany in January. However, Kwabs said that “I am proud to do well outside of the UK as well as inside it, because the two places are so different. But there is definitely more of a loyalty in the UK, because fans have been invested from the roots up.”

Given Kwabs’s musical education, I asked what he felt had influence his sound. “I listen to everything from Frank Sinatra to The Strokes, to Bach. I try to keep an open mind musically. It has helped me obtain a distinctive sound”, said the artist. Kwabs also said that “working with people like Sohn allowed me to make music that brought the vintage quality of my voice to a more contemporary place – ‘Wrong or Right’ really cemented that.” Kwabs’ real respect for the art of music shows through when I asked him who he would dream of collaborating with: “obviously artists like Beyoncé would be amazing, but I would also really love to collaborate with people like Sía and Erick Castle whose writing I really respect.”

Kwabs’s laid back and chatty persona seems very far from his cool and mysterious stage presence, but it became clear to me that this was simply an artist who really cared about his music, and always aimed to give his audiences the best show possible. This determination and raw musical talent is sure to get him far.