It may have been a freezing cold night in
First on were Norwegian six piece Young Dreams, who must be feeling positively at home in the current unseasonal conditions. As is often the case these days they have multi-instrumentalist members who flit between guitars and vocals. What makes them stand out from the crowd is their immaculate harmonies and summery, Afro-tinged vibes – try to imagine The Beach Boys crossed with The Bhundu Boys and you'll get an idea of the warm atmosphere they create with their music.
We had a quick chat with a couple of the band after they came offstage and they were as polite and friendly as their music was good. If you get a chance to see them they come highly recommended – they have their own headline show at The Lexington tonight and I’m sure they’ll return to these shores before too long.
Headliners Sinkane put their latest album ‘Mars’ out towards the end of last year and since then it has been building a buzz amongst critics and fans alike. Front man Ahmed Gallab has brought 3 very talented musicians with him on this tour (I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone play a guitar solo with one hand while playing the keyboard with the other, but that’s what the guy in front of us was doing) and between them they do a great job with the songs from the album, stretching them out and really bringing out the rhythms of the music.
Despite the fact that a lot of the people there were clearly too cool to actually dance there was lots of frantic head-nodding and a real sense of positive vibes. On the downside the sound mix was a bit muddy, and the set was a truncated due to some issues with the keyboards, but I imagine that in the sunshine at a festival Sinkane’s mix of world music and jazz influences will sound fantastic.
@TheDJCull
