Hymns from hers
The depth of contemporary singer-songwriting talent is taken for granted, often because writers and performers on the folkier side of the music spectrum don't get a lot of support from mainstream broadcast platforms.
So a show this weekend at the new Tanz venue in Blackheath, put together by and featuring Natalie Chapman (pictured), showcasing the work of four solo performers was an opportunity worth taking advantage of.
With the venue set up to accommodate fans who like to listen (as opposed to make a racket that drowns out the artist), Shotgun Tori began proceedings, barefoot as always – she insists that it helps her to “feel” the songs. Tori (aka Victoria Landey) is a brutally honest performer, and her uncompromising approach is part of her appeal, balanced by delicate finger-picking and unique, lilting dance movements as she sings.
Andra is a revelation in the live context.
Fans who have only heard the Pretoria-based singer’s recorded work will be familiar with her unexpectedly huge vocals, but watching her on stage allows full appreciation of her flint-sharp focus and completely underrated expertise on the guitar.
So completely did she win over the audience that Broken Spanish, a long, meandering, multi-rhythmed tune sung in that foreign language was one of the highlights of the night.
Chapman was accompanied for her country-tinged set by Raoul Roux, the highly-rated guitarist for the band Raoul And Black Friday, and the two-instrument approach (Chapman played rhythm guitar as she sang) made for a different sound.
Los Angeles-based Terra Naomi was the guest of honour and showed she deserved her billing with a passionate performance (swopping between a couple of guitars and a keyboard on diffe-rent songs) of wonderful original material including her breakthrough hit Say It’s Possible, as well as fantastic covers of Billie Jean and Hallelujah.
More in this vein please, local promoters.
