Ghostpoet @ Northcote SocialClub, Melbourne (20/10/2011)

Tue 25th Oct, 2011 in Gig Reviews

In the ever-claustrophobic and vicious world of popular music the ability and/or good fortune to have that elusive thing known as ‘hype’ generated around you is incredibly valuable. Having recently been nominated for Britain’s most prestigious music award, The Mercury Prize, Coventry’s Ghostpoet has achieved just that, as witnessed by the ultra-trendy crowd who sold out the Northcote Social Club on his first Australian performance.

Stepping onto the stage, Ghostpoet, AKA Obaro Ejimiwe, gathered his band, consisting of a guitarist and live drummer in a pre-gig huddle/cuddle, which could have been done before taking the stage if it wasn’t for the audience’s benefit.

Ghostpoet’s live setup includes himself controlling the pre-recorded tracks from a laptop, while the guitar, drums and vocals are performed live over the top. Musically he possesses quite a unique sound, blending the smoother parts of trip-hop, like Massive Attack circa Blue Lines, with elements of dub and electronica, set to a powerful break beat which propels every track along.

Underlying the sound are solid, bass heavy synth grooves, dark, atmospheric guitar parts, in the middle of all of which lie Ejimiwe’s distinctive vocals. He doesn’t quite rap, doesn’t quite sing, yet although he is sometimes compared to Mike Skinner, it is more than simply speaking; truthfully it is a combination of all three, and it suits the music very well.

At times Ghostpoet’s vocal becomes ruff, reflecting the Jamaican influence over British dub, electronica and hip-hop. At times it is soulful, whereas in other places his lazy, almost slurred conversational drawl cannot help but recall Roots Manuva.

The appearance of being humble serves as part of Ghostpoet’s onstage persona, repeating between almost every song how blown away he was to be in Australia and how much he appreciated the audience coming out. Despite being probably quite jetlagged, he did seem excited to be performing, and his interaction with the crowd, which included asking for tips on Aussie slang and phrases he should use, were appealing and helped to keep the audience engaged with the performance throughout.

Single Liines stood out as a highlight and a great, uplifting track that translated well to the stage, while Survive It, with its subdued, introspective verses and pop chorus, was also a treat.

Ghostpoet delivered a tight, solid set and received a lot of love from the attentive crowd. We will certainly be seeing more of him on our shores in the future, as hid performance at the Social Club proved he is definitely worthy of the hype that surrounds him.