Soundbyte: Nneka

by Devil’s Food Cake

I wasn’t originally going to write a review of it, but the gig I went to on Saturday night was so tremendous I couldn’t help wanting to share. Every once in a while I come across a musician that makes a monumental impression on me – I remember, for example, the first times I listened to Erykah Badu and M.I.A. Some things will stay with you for a long, long time.

When I went down to Brighton on Saturday to see a friend and go for a gig, I was expecting some good music, some good chat and a general good time. I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by Nneka, but she managed to do that anyway. Tiny and compact and seemingly soft-spoken, the minute she opened her mouth and started on her first note, she shattered any preconceptions I may have had.

She started on a high and managed to keep that vein running through the entire performance. VIP was tremendous – the entire audience singing deliriously back to her onstage. Suffri was beautiful, heart-rending and really moving. Every song, really, was incredible, and I could go on forever, but my personal fave was definitely Heartbeat (see below) and, as it was the last song of the set, the crowd was riotous, dancing and moving and singing back to her like people in love.

If you haven’t listened to her yet, you should definitely check her out. And just to make it a little easier for you, I’m putting Heartbeat down here:

You can check out other songs and more info at Nneka’s Myspace.