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Day: 18 February 2016

Live: Benjamin Clementine

Benjamin Clementine

The Lowry, Salford Quays

1st December 2o15

7/10

It’s Tuesday evening and we walk through the atmospheric Salford Quays to the Lowry Complex. Once inside, we’re directed through to the theatre and shown to our seats just as the lights dim. The audience is silent as Benjamin Clementine carefully walks onstage to sit on a bar stool in front of a grand piano. Barefoot and dressed in a dark trench coat, he cuts a strange figure. After a short pause Clementine opens with ‘Gone’, the last track on his Mercury award winning album At Least for Now. His relaxed control of the piano provides a suitable accompaniment to his powerful vibrato cries and lyrics bleeding melancholy, and this extends to the rest of the album.

After an enthused applause by the audience, Clementine is joined onstage by Alexis Bossard for ‘Condolence’ and ‘Nemesis’. Bossard’s percussive accompaniment is impressive, lending energy to a performance that, although tight, sometimes lacks diversity in its style.

Overall, this performance is everything that you would expect after At Least for Now. At times intense and atmospheric, at others Clementine’s booming voice paired with Alexis’s tight control of percussion…creates a wonderful energy. Although it is impossible to fault the instrumental performances, there were, surprisingly, times when Clementine’s vocals wavered, particularly on the evening’s performance of his single ‘Cornerstone’, which lacked some of the intensity and urgency of other performances. However, the far greater and more pleasant surprise of the night was drummer Alexis’s controlled yet furiously energetic support of Clementine.

The night ends with an encore of ‘Adios’ and ‘London’, both of which leave the audience stunned by the vocal strength that they allow Clementine to display; and finally, the pair walk offstage to a heavy applause.

By now there has been a wide range of response to Benjamin Clementine’s At Least for Now winning the mercury award, but all revolve around an important question: What should the aim of the Mercury Award be? The official Mercury Prize line is that it is presented to the best album released that year by an act from the UK or Ireland. Of course, a decision like this will be fraught with difficulties. Comparing albums of different genres and styles and even simple differences in opinion and taste are problems that will cause disagreements whatever the nominations.

The other often suggested purpose of the Prize is to raise awareness of talented, yet lesser known, artists. This certainly seems to have been a factor in Mercury wins in the past, since smaller acts take the prize over favourites to win, however this does seem to undermine the integrity of the official line of ‘best album’. If this is to be a factor in the decision, it should be made clear that this is taking place.

Benjamin Clementine’s win this year hints towards the latter purpose of the award. Despite an appearance on Jools Holland and a slightly stronger following in France, he remains a relatively unknown artist who, hopefully, will now deservedly receive wider recognition for his work. It is safe to say that At Least for Now is a great album. Minimal instrumentation and emotive lyrics create an intense album that demands attention throughout.

However, to call it the best British album this year seems a bold move. Whilst a nice listen, it feels a somewhat timid album. It is quite content in setting out a style for itself and sticking to it, without much variation or experimentation. Still, perhaps a Mercury win will afford Clementine the requisite confidence and a platform to produce a more developed second album.

Personally, I feel that the Mercury Prize does not deliver on its promise of the best album of the year. But given the nature of the task, it is not surprising. Instead, it offers a platform for good music to be recognised and shared. So, instead of calling it out on its choices each year, we should ask for a more clear and honest objective of raising awareness of smaller acts and genres that some of the listener-ship have not heard yet. Hopefully this will encourage artists like Benjamin Clementine to continue to create great albums.

Review: Cats! The Musical

The magic of T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats is bought to life by David Ian Productions in this modern interpretation of the classic musical. The show saw its opening night of the UK and European tour at the Manchester Opera House. The story begins in an old junkyard for the reunion of the jellicle cats before a vibrant explosion of dazzling feline choreography and harmonious song captivates the hearts of the Opera House audience. The challenging vocal arrangements paired with the intricate set design and elaborate costumes, enhanced this timeless classic.

For the most part, the musical was recreated in a format that mirrored the 1998 film production. However, the redesign of Rum Tum Tugger’s role left some audience members questioning whether such a change was at all necessary. Those that are familiar with the original production will recall how Rum Tum Tugger was portrayed as a young, stylish and almost sensual cat, with an Elvis style quiff, thick mane of fur and a slender black body. In this version of the musical, these characteristics had been altered in an attempt to reinvent Rum Tum Tugger with an almost ‘gangster’ persona. Both the song and dance involved in the solo piece mirrored a modern day hip hop video. Although this appeared to be an attempt to modernise the traditional character, it in fact appeared to do the opposite and instead made the character seem old fashioned. The combination of costume, song and dance was at times verging on the point of comical, something that as an avid Cats fan, I found exceptionally disappointing. Although this reinvention was not to one’s taste, Marcquelle Ward who was cast for the role successfully embraced all aspects of this reinvention and continued to entertain the audience both within this solo piece and for the duration of the performance.

Magical Mr. Mistoffelees was bought to life by Shiv Rabheru, who played an outstanding role. The choreography in the solo piece was intricate, well executed and a captivating display of exceptional talent, which was enhanced by the well synchronised pyrotechnics. Anita Louise Combe took on the role of Grizabella, the cat the had been banished from the rest of the clowder. Her emotion-filled rendition of Memory radiated through auditorium, resulting in a standing ovation from many audience members. Additional cast members who excelled in their role included Joe Henry and Emily Langham as Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, Sophia McAvoy as Victoria and Kevin Stephen-Jones as Old Deuteronomy.

This stage production captivated the essence of the original Cats musical and provided audience members with a magical arrangement of song and dance. Despite the unnecessary modernisation of Rum Tum Tugger, the overall production was a well put together rendition of a timeless musical.

We should be neither proud nor regretful of the British Empire

A recent YouGov poll found that 59% per cent of British people felt a sense of ‘pride’ in our colonial past. Of course, we should be willing to give those respondents who were ‘proud’ the benefit of the doubt, and assume ignorance rather than malice. If they knew more about the various crimes against humanity committed by our forefathers, we should assume they would think differently of it. However, the unsung heroes of this poll are not those who were apparently “ashamed” of the empire, but those admirable fence-sitters who answered “don’t know” in lieu of “neither”—this was the most sensible of the 3 answers provided.

Let us not forget that the imperial venture was not undertaken by most Britons. Even during the height of the empire in 1922, the great majority of the Isles residents did not feel the benefit of being citizens of the state, which subjected more foreign territory and peoples to its rule than any other state had before. Britain had some of the worst slums in Europe, and the actual cost of the empire in terms of the national budget shafted the average tax payer. At the height of the British Raj, there were never any more than 1,000 imperial administrators, overseen by a Cabinet minister who was always a man of either the old aristocracy or the new bourgeoisie. These well-to-do males did not represent anything approaching the general populace. Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), did not play an active role in the lives of most of its working class population, who were the majority.

On the subject of Cecil Rhodes, I largely sympathise with the failed effort to remove his statue from Oriel College. Those who have claimed that this was an attempt to purge our history should calm down.  The book burnings are not here yet, nor are they inevitable. We can learn the history in an objective non-judgmental sense, or even acknowledges Rhodes’ other achievements, while still accepting that it is not exactly accommodating to have a statue that celebrates a racist visible in a prominent position of a major university. Those students who campaigned for its removal were not trying to purge history, they were merely responding in an understandable way to what they know of history. Furthermore, decisions on what objects should be allowed in the space of a university should be somewhat in the hands of the student body. This, of course, extends to the alumni.

In reviewing his place in our national past, we should not forget that his ideology—and his activities—belonged to a radically different time. Maybe not so long ago in terms of time, but in terms of difference, it really was another age. Although many Britons, maybe even the majority, were racists during Rhodes’ lifetime. The beliefs and practices of Social Darwinism—which justified the empire—were held by a pseudo-intellectual clique who, in general, had as much disdain for their own domestic social underlings as they did for members of other races. The power system of the imperial age was also capable of violently and—by our standards—immorally subjecting these domestic inferiors. Take, for example, the St. Peter’s Square Massacre (1819), the violent suppression of aspirant members of the lower orders, which occurred just down the road from this university.

Churchill’s political career is also pertinent. Certainly, he is a man who should be recognised for his achievements and is rightly memorialised in stone. However, he championed the subjection of India long after it had become in any sense worthwhile. As Home Secretary, he oversaw the brutal military campaign against Irish nationalists. As late as 1930, Churchill was advocating a return to the property franchise. A property franchise and gender-based franchise kept large swathes of the population unable to participate in the election of the government which oversaw the empire. This paled in comparison to the severity of imperial subjection, but stemmed from the same elitism, and was perpetrated by an interconnected system of suppression.

The empire’s legacy in the modern world is a difficult one to evaluate. It is hard to argue that the export of Parliamentary democracy and formal education was a bad thing. It is equally difficult to argue that such benefits outweighed the myriad evils, such as slavery, oppression, and racial segregation. The point here is not that those who are directly descended from active imperial participants should feel regretful for the Empire. The point is that such practices belong to a past that had a radically different approach to race and geopolitics, as alien from our own time as was the life of a 1930s Indian Prince to that of a Jarrow dockworker. As such, it is nonsensical to express ‘pride,’ as the only way you can rightly be proud of something is if you participated in the achievement. Many cannot even conceive it, let alone bring themselves to undertake such a thing. The same is true of ‘shame.’ The sins of our fathers are not genetically present in ourselves. Such a belief belongs to people who believe that the original sin counts as actual historical fact. Britain should actively try to right the lingering wrongs of imperialism, but it is better that we do this out of pure human decency. It would be awfully self-serving to do it out of guilt, with penance at the front of our minds. Those who wish to be objective, honest, and sensible when asked such a question as ‘Is the British Empire something to be proud or ashamed of?’ have only have one logical answer. ‘Neither.’

Live: Krept and Konan

Thursday 19th November

Manchester Academy 2

8.5/10

Krept and Konan made a stop at Manchester Academy 2 for their sold out The Long Way Home Tour to promote their first studio album. The duo managed to expertly pump up the packed crowd, and produced an exhilarating set. The venue was set up as a tube station, as the South London duo arrived at 0161. The concept was innovative and, stylistically, enhanced the gig; it also reflected the rawness of the boys, who are proud of their London roots. There is an ongoing debate surrounding the duo over whether they are hip hop or grime artists (clearly more hip hop), but either way, their performance was incredible.

They kicked off the night with a performance of ‘Last Night’, from their new album, and had the crowd singing along from the start; although, there were a few bemused attendees who didn’t quite know what they had let themselves in for. The energy in the room was infectious from start to finish. Numerous mosh pits broke out, an activity encouraged by the duo, especially during ‘F.W.T.S’.

Everyone left the event on a high thanks to the charismatic nature of Krept and Konan and their insatiable energy levels.

Although the show primarily consisted of songs from their new album, it also featured some of their old school tracks. However, the best reception was for their more recent works. It was no surprise that ‘Freak Of The Week’ and ‘Do It For The Gang’ got the best reactions from the crowd. My favourite song of the night was ‘Falling’, which was a much more chilled affair and reflects the emotion that goes into the duo’s music.

One of the highlights of the night, which made this event such a must to attend, was the special guests. The arrival of Geko, Bugzy Malone and Lethal Bizzle, who entered through the tube doors to ‘Please Mind the Gap’, was phenomenal. Naturally, Bugzy Malone received the best response from the Manchester crowd, being a Manchester boy himself.

Overall, the night was electric and full of high energy.  Krept and Konan commanded the stage and definitely had the crowd in the palm of their hands by the end of the night. I would strongly recommend seeing these lads if you get the chance, because they are only going to get more popular in the coming years.