ONE TO WATCH: IYAMAH

Here at Oíche, we love all things soul, embracing the traditional genre as well as it's worthy & diversified counterpart - neo-soul. After a successful tour with her neo-soulsister Mahalia, Brighton beauty IYAMAH is unleashing her fiery soulful RnB vibes all over our "one to watch" radar.

Evident in her style is an artistic background, encouraged by a creative upbringing and influenced by empowering female artists like Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu. Unique to what we have witnessed so far from Iyamah is her ability to simplify the complex, to strip back the lyrics to create meaning and to let them shine brightly over a clean and tidy backing track. A delivery that is minimalist, with a result that is anything but.

In her debut single 'Cryptic Love', the London-based songstress exposes herself as a fool in love but a warrior in heartbreak, and the result is a powerful new-age love ballad that is both an instant hit and a sign of what's to come. As credible as a gentle pianist as she is a topline Drum n' Bass writer, Iyamah's silky smooth vocals paired with her rhythmic melodies leave us not only certain of but tickled with excitement about the future of soul music.

Written by Aoife Chaney

PICK OF THE WEEK: TASH SULTANA - 'JUNGLE'

Oíche's 'pick of the week' is a track by Melbourne-born busker turned psychedelic rockstar, TASH SULTANA. Best enjoyed between some good quality earphones with pristine clarity, JUNGLE is a manic exploration and fusion of musical styles and emotion.

The almost 2-minute long intro is Tash's sonic form personified - a story without words, told by an electric guitar, with the slow addition of some loop pedaling & drum beats as the plot unfolds. And, impressively behind every instrument - is the multi-instrumentalist & one-woman show that is Sultana. The words enter in an unpredictable manner that carries us this far and keeps us guessing what the singer-songwriter's next display of talent will be.

In keeping with a jungle theme, her vocals are wild & the lyrics untamed, jumping from high octaves to a touch reggae, even complemented at times by some welcomed rap. We are warped in the sounds like a chaotic yet perfectly harmonised stampede until the electric guitar solo is calmed by a final drum beats. We are captivated but free, dancing in the jungle.

Here we have a live performance of 'Jungle' below by Tash Sultana, which truly depicts her diversity and abilities as we claim her to be, one of our generation's most talented multi-instrumentalists.

Written by Aoife Chaney

PICK OF THE WEEK: MAHALIA - 'SOBER'

Oíche's 'pick of the week' & just in time to get us buzzing for her Grand Social headline show tonight, is SOBER by Birmingham artist, MAHALIA.

'Sober' is both empowering & vulnerable, with a little bit of heartbreak and a lot of "fuck you". Mahalia's psycho-acoustic sound envelopes her audience in a soulful embrace, and we find a pattern in her music where she so often speaks a universal language that is clear and transparent with honesty.

Mahalia invites us in with soothing vocals, powered by a groove-fuelled baseline & boom-bap beats. She channels her inner Lauryn Hill with an Amy Winehouse-esque flow and a deliverance that is uniquely her own. Mahalia has created a girl-power track that becomes in itself the very love hangover cure she has been searching for.

Written by Aoife Chaney

HOT PRESS GIG REVIEW

OÍCHE PRESENTS A NIGHT OF LIVE MUSIC WITH WHERE’S LUKE? AND GUESTS AT BELLO BAR

Photographs by Ezell Jordan

Music Review by Natalie Dyer via Hotpress Magazine

Four unique acts play an eclectic mix of r&b/soul, electronic, funk and rock music to a familiar crowd.

For those who are regulars at these types of events, I don’t need to tell you about Bello Bar. To those who aren’t, we’re talking shaggy carpet and a low ceiling basement. Tables with wax laden gin bottles acting as candlestick holders. A non-raised stage area with fairy lights draped over the microphone. Orange amplifiers. Frayed lampshades that prettify dimly lit corners. It’s easy to become ensconced in Bello Bar’s intimate and evocative surroundings.

As I grab a seat by the wall, Argentinian musician, Facundo Di Giorgio, begins to warm the crowd with 80s blues rock on lead guitar. Going full throttle with note-bending on the whammy bar, he also runs Olympic rings around the fretboard.

Next up is Claire Z and her r&b-soul-funk fusion band. On backing vocals, two soft coos bolster Claire’s fervent second soprano notes. Halfway through the performance, our lead singer asks if she can be “cheeky” and have the lights dimmed. The drummer comes in with a marching band beat and our bassist goes for a walk to the sleaziest part of town. The song does funk proud.

Ambient electro-soul-pop crooners, Dreaming of Jupiter, follow suit with a medley of tracks. Appeasing the seated crowd, lead singer and keyboardist, Zoë Gough, asks punters to sing back song lyrics. The band are keen to show that their talents aren't one dimensional as they switch instruments and create pedal loops mid-song.

To end the night, Where’s Luke appear onstage to a now drunk but tame crowd. Their first song - laced with an air of UB40 and Sting - sits well with the many friends there to see them. A standout song in their playlist is the sixth one, which revels in a state of dejection but changes the pace for an otherwise energetic show. Though the band’s own tunes bring forth heartfelt bluesy soul rock - which lead vocalist, Adam Weafer, clearly loves to sing - the audience seem to prefer well known soft rock covers such as ‘Can’t Stop’ from The Chilli Peppers and their Beatles finisher, ‘Come Together’.

Oíche Events' 50 Top Tracks of 2018

Perfect collabs, killer debuts, returning heroes and the rise of the sad banger – 2018 has been one hell of a year for music and here is our Top 50.

💛SPOTIFY PLAYLIST BELOW💛

50. Raveena - I Won’t Mind

49. Jael - Eden

48. Zapho - Do Like I Do

47. Leon Bridges - Beyond

46. James Vickery - Violet

45. Salvatore Manalo - Guava

44. Joy Crookes - Mother May I Sleep With Danger

43. RAYE - Confidence

42. Laoise - Again

41. Cat Turner - Easier

40. Tash Sultana - Salvation

39. Tom Misch - Movie

38. JYellowL - Oh Lawd

37. Hablot brown - Color World

36. Tash Sultana - Cigarettes

35. Brika - Karma

34. Alex Smyth - Escort

33. Tanjier - Lights

32. Lagoon - Laura Misch

31. AngÈlE - Tout Oublier

30. Jorja Smith - Blue Lights

29. Tanjier - Miles

28. Mac Miller - Hurt Feelings

27. Danny George - Say Something Ft. Darren Morgan

26. HOZIER - NINA cried power

25. Wyvern Lingo - I Love You, Sadie

24. Billie Eilish - WHEN' THE PARTY’S OVER

23. GeeJay - Horizon

22. Cleo Sol - Why Don’t You

21. Tom Misch - it Runs Through Me

20. Iyamah - Silver Over Gold

19. Jafaris - Found My Feet

18. Leisure - Take It To The Top

17. Tom Misch - Lost in Paris

16. Wyvern Lingo - Out of my Hands

15. Mura Masa - Complicated

14. Elkae - Sold

13. Sam Wills - Kool Aid

12. Nao - Drive and Disconnect

11. SYLK - White Ferrari

10. Van Jess - Touch The Floor Ft. Masego

9. Masego - Tadow

8. GeeJay - Vibrate

7. Tom Misch ft Poppy Ajuda - Disco Yes

6. Tash Sultana - Mystik

5. Bishop Briggs - River

4. Mahalia - I Wish I Missed My Ex

3. Hablot brown - Little bit

2. GeeJay - Flowers

1. Iyamah - Cryptic Love

OÍCHE EVENTS’ TOP TRACKS OF 2018 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST