I've talked about the differences in performance style between DJs, solo performers, bands and so on before, and have always admired the abundance of variety available to us through live music every day, particularly in a city like London. Another thing you see a lot in cultural hubs like this is talented folks bringing together their sounds in a mish-mash combination of all sorts of interpretations of music. Last night I went to see NiNE8 Collective play in Oxford Circus and it really brought out how these kind of groups stand in their own category, and how they treat their time onstage.
First and foremost, it's a family vibe. While their popularity is definitely expanding rapidly, the NiNE8 Collective are still able to maintain an intimate atmosphere with their audience, using the same smoking area and discarding the use of a greenroom. The core consists of Lava La Rue, NIGE, Biig Piig, Mac Wetha, KXRN, Bone Slim, L!BAAN, Nayana IZ and LorenzoRSV, and as they move between places on the stage, the image they portray as a tight-knit friend group, all with independent characteristics, is symbolised in music form as they jam together as sonic partners, filling out the texture of their sound. Take 'Take Off' for example; Biig Piig's dulcet tones lift ups up and down in a haze of beauty over the smoky production, Lava La Rue's verse then drops us lower into gritty waters, and it rounds off with maximum attitude on Bone Slim's verse.
'Pusha' takes us into heartier vocals and a singalong chorus from Nayana, whoever isn't under the spotlight in the group will continue to hype up the crowd or one another to keep the energy up. Throughout the night, it's the continual interchangeability of the focus that stands out. After an extended section of the boys rapping, the opening of Mac Wetha's 'Smokers'' punches you in the face with what the girls are bringing to the table too. On the opposite end again, the chorus of 'You Know Better' features the soft, soothing vocals of Biig Piig at their most mesmerising, needing no upfront impact to captivate you. Also, big shout out for dropping 'Twenny Four', was great to hear some of La Rue's most recent album in the flesh.
On another note, it's impossible not to mention the fashion and aesthetic they bring with it essentially being a part of the performance. I have a lot of time for Bone Slim's classic white mask, and it fits Biig Piigs' voice and personality so well as she holds the mic in one hand and has the other in the pocket of her wide-cut, baggy and patterned trousers, leaning back slightly and taking in the vibes. Lava La Rue's outfit banged regardless, string vest crop top in particular, but I really enjoyed that she donned one of the boy's smart jackets for a while and offset the ensemble with a simple clash. Fred Perry were presenting the event, so there was a lot of that onstage, but you wouldn't even need this uniting feature for it all to make sense; they've definitely got an established sense of style as a collective, and so the abundance of details within this is a further reflection of this same assortment of personalities.
Anyway, so that's that on that. For the last post of the year I want to do a review of my favourite music from this year, so I won't go too much into it but want to mention a couple things Spotify's Wrapped moments. First of all, I was quite gassed to see the seasons was the first thing it featured to take note of differences in listening, as I've just talked about that on here. Second thing is just that I doubled my listening time from last year - not much else to say, just have no idea how I managed that!
In terms of new releases, I'd say the most exciting things I've heard are Caribou's new single 'You and I' which combines their more classic sounds with some interesting new sampling styles, and inflections of some Indian music vocals within this. Gassed to see the live show in April! Arlo Parks also dropped her EP 'Sophie' which I've been listening to a lot, I still can't get over her candy-sweet voice and clever, hard-hitting lyrics. Playlist update is here, but I've also been adding to some new ones all titled with old school emoticons, namely ;), o:), ^_^, :(, <3 :s and B). I thought it would be a cool way to explore different moods, and quite happy with how they've come out so far. Have a good one guys, and make sure to read the next one for a year-in review with me. xxx
Photo Credits - Izzy Skelley @_machiaskelli_
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