Sometimes, I have been wanting to update the blog for days (or even weeks) but didn’t really find the inspiration or haven’t taken some time to do so. Life has this way of clouding your mind and closing the door to creativity sometimes…
This lengthy intro will be a way for me to sort of make up for the lack of words on here in the past weeks. So, as there hadn’t been any Internet connection at work all day and I quickly exhausted the computer game possibilities, I decided to put pen to paper. What could I talk about, I wondered for a second.
Well, the obvious topic was the amazing evening I had last Sunday. As my birthday on Tuesday was some kind of a disaster, I will retrospectively take this night at XOYO as an early present and will keep that one in mind, trying to erase the 24th May 2011 from my memory.
Before I go any further, I need to give a huge shout out to Rah and all the soulBEAUTIFUL team, for putting together yet another awesome show. After the incredible performance by the Foreign Exchange at Cargo back in January, which started the new year with a bang, we were offered a phenomenal show by Black Milk and that deserves to be mentioned. Now, let me tell you more about what happened on Sunday 22nd May at XOYO, London…
After a short break from the blog, I am finally back on tracks, more motivated and inspired than ever. I don’t know if it’s spring or the quantity of amazing music coming out or both, but I can feel this excitation again, this desire to share music, to spread the word about talented artists you may have not heard of. To make this ‘come back’ even more special, I have some very interesting things to talk about…
I first met and interview Slakah The Beatchild back in July (I can finally ‘remember’ thanks to the archives…) when he was in town with D.O, other half of Art of Fresh. In case you missed it, catch up with the previous Art of Fresh interview. Slakah has been touring quite a lot lately, with D.O or on his own, and he is now in London for a while. His first stop was at Aesthetic Sounds (where he already performed in July) and it was quite an amazing show! After two very talented acts, the lovely Sherry Davis and rapper Artcha, Slakah made his appearance on stage and blessed us with his great talent and incredible energy, showcasing tracks from his previous album Soul Movement Vol.1 and from his latest EP, the beautiful Something Forever. There was a great connection between him and the audience, and the positive vibes were floating everywhere. As I said in my first introduction to Slakah The Beatchild, he is really producing feel-good music, that enables you to simply Enjoy Yourself and forget about whatever issues you may have. This is something you can clearly feel when he is on stage, and it obviously makes it much more powerful, since you can express your enjoyment as well and join everyone else around. This experience of live music is one I really appreciate and I always say to myself I should go to more gigs because they provide you with something that an album cannot.
The set was going back and forth between smooth and chilled tracks (mainly from Something Forever) and more energetic and bouncy tracks, which was a very interesting combination. I also need to mention the beautiful CharChar and Sarah Fonteyne (who is also the organiser of Aesthetic Sounds), who complemented the tracks with some enchanting backing vocals. Two highlights made this night even more special. First, during B-Boy Beef , Slakah invited someone from the audience to take part in a dance battle. People were quite shy, until amazing dancer and talented producer Sid Mercutio accepted the challenge. I think Slakah didn’t expect such level from his opponent and I have to say Sid was really impressive. This, of course, really created a wonderful energy and took us all back in time, where hip-hop really meant ‘peace, unity, love and having fun’. Secondly, Slakah ended the show with the aptly named Enjoy Yourself, which was probably the best track to choose, as everyone in the crowd was then dancing and helping with the chorus. I also saw quite a few familiar faces, which is always a great thing. I didn’t get a chance to talk to DJ Bounce though, but it’s because he seemed so busy spinning those amazing tunes I didn’t dare to disturb him. This show left me quite elated and with a wonderful feeling of being part of a big family of music lovers.
The party was not quite over, though, at least for a few lucky people. It was only the beginning actually, as a party bus was waiting at the door of the Vibe Bar for those who were chosen by Slakah, and a crazy night was ahead for us all, riding and partying around London until the break of dawn (that was for the rhyme…). I can’t tell you much more about this because, as Slakah said: ‘what happens in the party bus stays in the party bus’. All you need to know is that you missed out on an incredible experience! I need to take some time now to give a big shout out to Sarah Fonteyne and the live band, for this amazing gig and to the people who organised the after party. I haven’t felt that good in quite a while and that was most welcome.
Now, to find out more about what Slakah The Beatchild has been up to lately and what is projects are, you can check out this quick interview I had with him before the show. Enjoy!
And if you want to have an idea of what the show sounded like, discover his performance of Illusions, from Something Forever. It was one of the most chilled out tracks of the night and a very nice introduction.
After introducing you to Clarisse Albrecht and her music in the previous post, I am now happy to share more goodness from her. She just put a new video online, from an acoustic version of her single Você Me Dá, performed at Codigo Jamming. I think I already mentioned how much I love acoustic music and this video is yet another way for me to enjoy the beauty of music in one of its purest and most emotional forms.
Sometimes, less is more is true when it comes to music, as is obvious here. You have ‘only’ a beautiful voice, a guitar and percussions, but you can clearly feel the passion and emotions involved. Something I didn’t mention in the previous post is the beauty of the Portugese language, which is more noticeable here, where you can pay more attention to the words. The sensual and exotic dimensions are still here, and watching this today made me feel good and put a smile on my face. If you are in need of positive vibrations and musical inspiration, have a look and listen to the enchanting voice of Clarisse Albrecht. Enjoy and spread the word!
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