Rae Morris – Under The Shadows
Rae Morris – Under The Shadows (2014)
Directed by: Alex Southam
It’s not often after a gig you can say ‘wow, the support act were great’ and I’m betting it’s even more rare to be able to say ‘wow, the support’s support act were really good too’. But on Thursday night I said exactly that as we bolted out of the back doors of Electric Brixton, thanks to a nice member of security!
Let’s start with Ekkah then. I didn’t realise there would be two support acts, so we came in half way through their set (too late to shoot them too). We were greeted by the sounds of Patrice Rushen‘s classic 80’s soul track ‘Send Me Forget-Me-Nots’ that the band were covering, it sounded really good and Ekkah instantly grabbed my ears! With a few more tracks to hear from them, including ‘Last Chance to Dance’, I certainly like what they have to offer and I was really impressed with front girls Rebecca and Rebekkah and the way they held their own on perhaps their biggest gig to date. (Correct me if I’m wrong here).
I was also impressed with the lads of the band, a really tight set from what I heard, filled with lots of retro funk and soul styled tracks, akin to perhaps Jessie Ware at her danciest from Devotion and Warpaint at their happiest! I’m definitely gonna keep an eye on this lot, good job Ekkah!
Now on to second support act Fryars. Now if you’re familiar with Rae Morris‘ name, I’m certain you’ll be familiar with Fryars as they’ve graced many a ‘ones to watch for 2015’ list together of late. And rightly so in both cases. As much as I was familiar with the name, bar the duet on Rae‘s album, I hadn’t heard anything of his music. I’ve since corrected that after being more than impressed with the set last night. Sat at his electric piano Ben Garrett AKA Fryars shared the stage with just a drummer and a guitarist (who was once a member of Cajun Dance Party) and as the trio worked their way through a set of varying styles of music one thing was clear –they’re certainly incredibly talented!
From the piano driven ballad to the emotionally wrought electro anthems, Fryars easily and cleverly have it all nailed! At their more sombre, guitar led times like ‘On Your Own’ they reminded me of Band Of Horses and at their more electro times like with ‘The Power’ and ‘Cool Like Me’ they reminded me of MGMT, James Blake and Bon Iver but all done in a very unique way with a little glint in the eye. An enigmatic performance,although none-the-less engaging, Fryars are totally deserving of all their recent accolade and I’m excited to see what the future brings for them.
I’m pretty sure ‘I’m excited to see what the future brings for them’ is how I ended my review of Rae Morris‘ support slot when I saw Lianne La Havas almost 2 years back. And look what that future has brought her! A top 10 album, huge critical acclaim and a tour full of a mixed crowd of adoring fans, I’d take that!
With the stage filled with a beautiful grand piano and a double bass, I knew we’d be in for a treat and as Rae took her seat behind the piano to play the opening lines of ‘Skin’ it sent shivers down my spine. Despite being in the photo pit for the first three tracks and concentrating and shooting I still felt like I was witnessing something really special, particularly with ‘This Time’. Rae has come a long way since that night at Shepherds Bush Empire supporting Lianne, gone is the meek girl shyly sat behind an electric piano playing lovely ballads, instead now sat a strong woman commanding the stage (even when sat behind her beautiful grand piano) belting out not only the lovely piano led ballads but a string of electro heavy numbers, grown up electro-pop, still filled with deep, raw emotion and this voice!
A completely refreshing voice, although it could be likened at times to Florence (but less shouty) or Ellie (but less of the weird nasally sounds she often does!) or Birdy (but less whishy washy), Rae has this naturally gorgeous tone to her vocals that go from a luscious deep to a controlled high that is even more pleasing to the ear live than on record. Plus she’s still got that gorgeous mop of curls!
Highlights of Rae‘s set for me have to be hits ‘Closer’ and show closer ‘Under The Shadows’. But ‘Love Again’, ‘Morne Fortune’ and ‘Do You Even Know’ were right behind them! For a portion of the show Rae came out from behind her piano and I can confirm, yes, she has legs! It was really nice to have her at the front of the stage and you could feel even more energy from her.
When you leave a gig, grinning ear to ear and eager to listen to all the artists you just watched (and discovered) you know you’ve had a great night, and that’s exactly what we had.
