Eska Launches Album With Jaw Dropping Performance
Published
Last Saturday night I had the privilege of attending the sold out Eska album launch at Richmix in Shoreditch following it's release on May 4th. After grabbing a very reasonably priced 'Dark n Stormy' I found myself a spot near the front amongst fans, friends and fellow musicians who packed out the venue. Even though there was some waiting around in between the acts, the atmosphere was electric and sustained through until the very end of the night.
The electronic duo Maxixe were the support band of the night and gave a good but somewhat varied performance. In some places it was smooth, the vocals beautiful and crisp captivated the audience while in other places it all seemed slightly off balance and the sections which were more experimental didn't really seem to come across that solidly.
Eska's performance was nothing short of superb. It was immediately clear from the bands rapport that the set up consisting of a bassist, drummer and guitarist all who doubled as backing vocals seemed to fit together perfectly. In addition she had an harmonica player on stage who was out of this world and seemed to play notes that were beyond the capabilities of a harmonica. He almost stole the show. Almost, but not quite.
Moving effortlessly through an eclectic smattering of genres Eska opened with a Hendrix style bluesy rock piece which moved through to a foot shuffling Bob Marley style tune 'Herioes & Villains' which features on the album. She humorously improvised over the dub beat about the 'pressure' of being named 'the finest female vocalist in the UK' of which she received many woops and cheers from her fans. Some more familiar folk based songs were sang like the Joni-Mitchell-esque 'To Be Remembered' A clear showcase of Eska's extraordinary vocal range.
Eska sang all the featured tracks on the album each one receiving a cheer of anticipation and recognition from the crown tracks including 'Gatekeeper', 'Rock Of Ages' and the critically acclaimed 'Shades Of Blue'.
The magical thing about the show is that Eska made the audience feel included and immersed in the performance. The crowd were there sharing her enjoyment on stage, her excitement for the night and her accomplishment of finally after twenty years of vocal collaborations creating this beautiful music. The crowd sang along along to tear jerking 'This Is How A Garden Grows' and added the effective quirky 'woops' in 'Gatekeeper'. The highlight which drew the night to a close was when the London contemporary voices joined the stage adding yet another little gem after an already lengthy set. At the end of the night after a final song Eska was ecstatic and jumped up and down saying 'we did it!'.
It is impossible to explain how utterly jaw dropping the show was but this hopefully has caught your attention and titillated your taste buds for some Eska magic. The album is absolutely stunning and the warmth and excitement from a gig like the one last Saturday was enough to keep that tingle in ones mind for the rest of the week. Eska has been a vocalist for some time but now she is slowly beginning to get the acclaim she fully deserves. It is more than exciting to see and hear how her music is going to develop and grow.
To find out more about Eska click here.
To visit the Eska Facebook page click here.
Words by Poppy Jones
