The dark and hollow Hordern Pavilion was transformed into a soulful, loving den of out of this world rhythms and delicious melodies layered atop of beautiful, harmonious vocals.
All on a lazy Monday night (26 February) in late summer. It started with Ngaiire, the perfect artist to warm up the ever-growing crowd as she sang songs from her neo-soul laden catalogue. Starting with 'Count To Ten', taken from her debut record 'Laminations', which was –suitably – released just over ten years ago, she didn't take long to warm us up (why was the air-con so chilly?).
The expert drumming from Tully Ryan created a tapestry of rhythms for Ngaiire to sing over and keys from Andrew Bruce (both members of GODTET) set the scene for a short, but wonderful set.
"[This set] is about as long as it took me to get these gloves on!" joked Ngaiire as she smiled at the crowd which, by the end of her set, stretched to the back of the Pavilion. "There's so many of you!" she exalted.
With limited time, we were denied the opportunity for an extensive set from her back catalogue, but were treated to the fantastic 'Once' and two more from her debut LP, 'Rabbit Hole', before finishing with 'Around'.
It was a sweet taste of the enormous talent of the PNG-born artist and whet our appetite for her full show with all of GODTET at Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall (4 May). It will be a glorious occasion.
It's been a long seven years since Sampha was last on our shores and there was little doubt that his star has risen significantly in that time. He was featured on Kendrik Lamar's most recent album, 2022's 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers' and has uncredited work with Beyoncé, Drake and SBTRK, happy to remain an enigma for the most part.
Sampha's second, long-awaited album and the one he is touring, 'Lahai', is a brilliant, eclectic and other-worldly body of work.
With a stage setup that felt like it should be experienced in-the-round – having performed in intimate church locations already on this tour – we would have to settle for a front view of his band, who gathered in a circle, facing each other like they were in a rehearsal.
Sampha has said in the past that he wanted to promote 'synergy' and 'freedom' amongst the band with the positioning. It was a shame the Hordern couldn't accommodate the preferred configuration.
In any case, the music was still to be appreciated and appreciate we did, as he, and his band, launched into 'Plastic 100°C', the opening track from the 2017 debut, 'Process'. "You touch down in the base of my fears – Houston, can-can-can you hear me now?"
The galactic themes rang through from the start, at times creating an all-encompassing cacophony before suddenly retreating to a single keyboard. Without going as far as being claustrophobic, the layering of the sounds would sometimes make it feel like you were swimming through thick mud, but what kept everything on track was that voice.
Sampha's voice is something else. It's warm. It's exciting. It's unpredictable. You never quite know when it's going to strike, but it continually grounded us throughout the set.
'Suspended', one of the highlights from 'Lahai', built beautifully from a soft intro on keys to a frenetic fever dream of layered rhythms and harmonies. Just when we think things are getting a bit out of hand, he brings it back to an intimate moment with just him and a keyboard.
In keeping with the theme of community – of which the album is centred around – a drum circle under a single spotlight felt raw, primal and personal as 'Without' was performed. The African influenced rhythms from the drums, along with the dancing and sheer joy of the performers, gave us a sense of elation, but imagine if that part of the show was actually done in the middle of the arena?
His "all new" and talented band – Blake Cascoe (drums), Elsas (keys), Rosetta (bass), and Ruthven (percussion) – raised the roof throughout the set. Some of the outstanding musicality shown from the artists borders on manic, but somehow it all pieces together and within a blink of the eye, they would change styles, stop or just move in unison to a new direction.
'Spirit 2.0' was just epic. The refrain of ". . . will catch you" into a small homage to Massive Attack's 'Teardrop' was inspired and showcased just how well the band worked together.
The way the set flowed was perfect. When we needed a break, Sampha delivered with solo renditions of 'Too Much' and the beautiful '(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano'. The harmonies of the entire band were on display and heavenly, but especially in the a cappella of 'Can't Get Close' late in the set.
"We all love music!" announced Sampha near the end of the set as he sent his gratitude to the crowd. It's true, we do, and the man and band were wonderful proponents of how great it can be.
The encore of one of his oldest songs, 'Happens' – the other side from his debut double single – was a perfectly simple and gorgeous way to end. Just the man and his piano before a mild Monday evening brought us back to our senses.
- written by Mick Radojkovic
