On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the heart of Spring I found myself underground, tucked away towards the back of a rectangular room staring at a few lonely candles glowing on the tables while sipping Coke Zero from a thick plastic cup. It was my first time visiting The Social in Fitzrovia, a basement bar that’s completely unassuming from the street, but provides a vibey refuge from the crowds of tourists on Oxford Street. For a while I watched the bartender bopping along to Token Girl DJs who set the tone for the afternoon with plenty of psychedelic music. Their taste aligned so well with mine that I was constantly on Shazam during their set and I think I got nearly every song. I was enamoured with the secluded nature of the space, as well as the hand-drawn, lopsided bird it has for a logo, and I eagerly anticipated what was to come.
I stepped out into the scented mist wafting over from the stage and promptly realised I’d forgotten my earplugs as I took my place in the crowd. I began taking notes but quickly became lost in the music and as the frontman of TV for Cats sang a song about “holding on for dear life”, I failed to hold onto my pen, which fell onto the packed dancefloor, never to be recovered. He was a brilliant performer and their upbeat setlist had everyone grooving. In general, the band shows a great deal of promise in the songwriting department. I can only hope that they find a bassist with an equally cool aesthetic and go on to great things! The room was too full to move and at this point it dawned on me that three-hour daytime gigs are not for the faint of heart… There are certainly worse ways to spend an afternoon, though, and with Heavenly Recordings’ well-considered line up of artists for company the time flew by! Next up was French multi-instrumentalist and producer Iko Chérie, whose ambient music completely transformed the atmosphere in the room. It remained unfailingly tranquil despite the fact that she was switching between flute, synth and guitar nearly every few bars! She also had two vocal mics which were pitched differently, offering us more than one speaking/singing voice as well as many other creative instrumental ideas. Her set-up was impressive to say the least and she maintained a humorous stage presence despite technical difficulties hampering some of the songs. She certainly knows how to work a laptop and the room, but for me the most special moment of her performance was her last song where she simply accompanied herself on guitar – this was when her songwriting, musicianship and vocals came through best.
After the stage was eventually cleared, Welsh photographer and filmmaker Clare Marie Bailey came up to do a Q&A with the headline act, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Gwenno. The show coincided with the launch of an exhibition in The Social’s upstairs bar showcasing a collection of images shot on film by Clare Marie, who previously provided the photography for Tresor, Gwenno’s 2022 album. It was fascinating to hear how much thought and effort goes into creating the visual identity for an album, and there was clear friendship and chemistry between the two of them, which helped them to push each others’ work further throughout the creative process. The pictures in the exhibition take the viewer away from the idyllic scenery of rural Wales as seen on Tresor and instead show the electrifying energy of two major cities, Las Vegas and London, both of which inspire the new album Utopia. Each photograph tells a story in itself, featuring Gwenno as the heroine posing in bold, glamorous outfits which Clare Marie has captured in an artistic, feminine way. Gwenno onstage was equally striking – she is witty, engaging and an all-round fantastic performer. Her discography is renowned for reviving the Cornish and Welsh languages in popular music but I thought her new material in English sounded particularly good. The use of English lyrics was also key to getting the audience reflecting on past and present war and injustice, both in Gaza and in Ireland. Her stripped-back performance of ‘Dancing on Volcanoes’, the only song from Utopia currently available for public consumption (the album will be released on 11th July), greatly contrasted with the guitar-centric, Smithsian version on the album and made the melancholic nature of her lyrics shine through even more. When the stark chords of the middle 8 came in, briefly pivoting the song into the tonic major then back into its home key of C minor, Gwenno asked “do you remember when you were 9 or 10 and everything shattered?” I was struck by the commentary on the way in which childhood traumas can affect your adulthood – even when your life situation is different. She may have been out of her comfort zone performing without a full band but throughout the course of her intimate piano set she had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. She concluded with a buoyant rendition of her song ‘Eus Keus’, the lyrics of which roughly translate to ‘if you have cheese, bring it: If you don’t have cheese, bring what you have.’ I felt so inspired I went for a pizza afterwards – thanks Gwenno!
