SWOON + KAI KHAN + KID IVY – HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 11.12.18
These days it seems much better that plenty of delicate subjects are no longer swept under the carpet so to speak and that they are brought out into the public domain to raise awareness for that given cause. Tonight’s was one of those important events.
This evening was in aid of the Mind charity, who in their own words……“We provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. We won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect”.
Tonight’s headline act had a merch stall and any purchases made by the punters would contribute to the Mind charity. The act being the up-and-coming Brighton based 4-piece Swoon, who’s personnel are Alice, Ferg, Chris and Adam.
To coincide with tonight’s gig, they have also uploaded ‘Heartstrings’ onto Bandcamp. Have a listen to it HERE.
I feel that the Swoon sound is a pleasant blend of musical styles that incorporate Emo, EBM, synth rock and even tinges of dance. There are large slabs of Evanescence in there, so add goth and metal to that.
The band had truly got into the festive spirit with the boys dressed in their Christmas outfits and Alice was an angel, who was trying her very best, despite suffering for the early onslaught of flu. Her voice just about held it together for the whole of the set, but she was clearly in some discomfort. She did very well indeed – Grazie Alice!
Alice, who I must say has the most radiantly coloured tattoos that I can recall seeing, originally comes from near to Milan in Italy, but had her colourful tattoos done here in Brighton. Her band,Swoon, have only been together for around 18 months, but in that time they have already had a few decent support slots, including Pussy Riot.
This was my second helping of a Swoon gig and at the first one was only last month when they were supporting the terrific Blinders. One of my mates who was at the gig, was blown away by this local band and especially Alice’s powerful voice. You know it’s one of those where on X-Factor someone starts singing and the judges look astounded and the crowd stands and applauds. However, we certainly don’t want Swoon to go down that musical route, and neither do the Brighton based record label (and promoter) One Inch Badge as we wouldn’t want to take ‘the nut away from that squirrel’, as they have recently released Swoon’s 10” coloured vinyl ‘Fun Police’ EP. Check it out on this page HERE.
Swoon have posted…“Thanks to all the people who came down to our XMAS BLOWOUT at The Hope & Ruin! We had a blast! A massive shout out to Kai Khan & Kid Ivy for smashing it on stage”.
Tonight’s twelve track Swoon setlist reads:
‘Cage’, ‘Heartstrings’, ‘Teeth’, ‘Wolf’, ‘Space Invader’, I Wanna Disappear’, ‘Whiplash’, ‘Hunting Holiday’, ‘Rabbit Hole’, ‘Fun Police’ (encore) ‘All I Want For Christmas’ (Mariah Carey cover), ‘Break Stuff’ (Limp Bizkit cover)
More on Swoon HERE.
First up this evening were Josh Craggs and Jordan Terry who go by the name of Kid Ivy. These lads met at college and then moved down Brighton and are an Indie/Electronica/Alternative duo. A year ago they unveiled their debut 6-track ‘Foreign Lands’ EP which is a mix of emotive melodies, progressive electronica sounds and plangent guitar hooks to provide material influenced by artists from all ends of the music spectrum.
The key words here are ‘all ends of the music spectrum’, as the boys set tonight started in territory akin to acts such as The XX and The Killers and then we followed the lads through their musical journey and ended up in territory held by the likes of Crystal Castles – it was quite a contrast, but their set was all the better for it.
BBC Introducing have already picked up on the lads and I reckon with the right backing and a decent manager that can pull out all of the stops, that these boys could possibly be heading for singles chart success. They wouldn’t be out of place supporting the likes of CHVRCHES.
This was my second viewing for a Kid Ivy concert and it was just as enjoyable as the first one. My fave track of theirs is called ‘Ego’ – check it out HERE.
Tonight’s seven track Kid Ivy setlist reads:
‘Like It Meant Nothing’, ‘Cyanide’, ‘MTD’, ‘Southcoast Daydream’, ‘Disco’, ‘Ego’, ‘Rise Up!’
More on Kid Ivy:
Facebook
Bandcamp
The second act tonight was the Brighton based Malaysian artist Kai Khan who very successfully fuses elements of electronic, dance and pop music.
This was the act that I was totally unaware of prior to seeing her live set, which she performed with her four guy backing band. I had memories of seeing Dua Lipa perform on the very same stage nearly three years prior and I believe that Kai can surely go much further than she has at present. I was talking with her after her all too short set and it transpires that she has just graduated from here vocals course at BIMM here in Brighton and judging by tonight’s performance, I would say that she has passed with honours.
I was telling Kai that her sound reminded me of a modern take on the soul/dance tracks that my Malaysian college mates used to continually listen to in 1978-1980 when they were attending Brighton Technical College (now The MET) and living in Clyde Road near the Fire Station in Brighton. At that time I had no idea that Kai had come over from the capital of Malaysia, KL (Kuala Lumpur) three years ago. She thought that I knew, but this was just coincidence – strange how I picked up on the Malaysian thing!
The choice cut for me of hers was the penultimate tune entitled ‘No.1’, which I pointed out to Kai, as that where it should be destined to go in the singles charts. So if you are a fan of modern soul/dance and too are inspired by acts such as Disclosure and Katy B, then Kai Khan is seriously well worth checking out!
Kai has posted…“Cheers to everyone who came, last night was such fun! We probably won’t be playing live until March as I’ll be away visiting my home in Malaysia. Biggest love to my band for taking the time out to do this, and Swoon for having us. Have a great Christmas peeps! Xx”
Tonight’s five track Kai Khan setlist reads:
‘Ruin’ , ‘A Little Bit Of Your Love’, ‘Body Bones’, ‘No.1’, ‘Real’.
More on Kai Khan:
Facebook Soundcloud
For more information on Mind, visit their website HERE.
