By Cassia Helme for Nottingham Live
If there is one word I could choose to
represent Josh Wheatley's EP launch, it would be love. Purely
because the amount of love in the room that night for Josh was
incredible. Right from the start Pepper Rocks was packed, it felt
like the majority of Nottingham's acoustic music scene was there to
celebrate the launch of Follow The Smoke –
his fantastic debut EP. Rightly so too, as the gig was an incredible
one, and the amount of talent on display from the live performers was
just awesome.
Kicking
off proceedings was MJ LYNCH. With a flair for gorgeous guitar
technique and stunning vocals to match, MJ Lynch began the evening
with Letting Me Down - a stunning number which showcased his
songwriting skills perfectly. With both vocal and guitar melodies
which melt your heart, and lyrics which pack a punch, it's hard not
to be instantly stunned by this young performer. His falsetto is
beautiful and well executed, but a little on the quiet side.The vocal
delivery was tender and gentle, much in tune with the nature of the
song, and I'm not sure if it was the wine, but I was welling up a
little. Then he was joined by A-jay, another member of New
Communication, and together they produced a collaboration on The
A-Team by Ed Sheeran which was also wonderful. The differences on
guitar and vocals were creatively subtle from the original, but
brought a little more funk into the mix (from the guitar) and the rap
vocals also added another dimension to the cover.
Photo by Cassia Helme
MJ
Lynch then decided to bring it back to reality with an original
number sung on his own, after claiming he'd “never really played
this song”, he launched into All I Want – a
heartfelt number with a darker and sexier tone. Singing lyrics such
as “your love is such a pleasant distraction, I can't deny this
attraction, there's no light but you're the star”, he uses
explorative melodies and gorgeous rhythms which combined with minimal
guitar at the beginning brings more poignancy to the lyrics. In the
falsetto sections, you can hear his pleading and infatuation in the
melodies, which really makes the song hit home. Next up, he performs
two covers, one by Jonas Brothers, which although makes him laugh,
he's clearly enjoying himself and connecting to the song. The second
was a John Legend cover of Tonight, in which he is joined by Mitchell
from New Communication, which was really great, especially when they
sang together, and the verse swapping between them was lovely.
Mitchell
also joined him for the final song of the set, a cover of So Sick by
Ne-Yo, which they executed superbly, with really gorgeous use of
their vocals and excellent guitar technique, they really ended the
set with a bang.
Next
up to grace the Pepper Rocks stage was JAMIE MOON, who brought a more
folk inspired setlist to the event. He opens his set with a gentle
and subtle number, with gorgeous vocals over the top which are free
flowing and not forced in any way, which gives them an honesty and a
vulnerability. In Glasshouse Kids,
his guitar technique is lovely, the fingerpicking style provides
consistent rhythm and drive to gentle vocals, which conveys the
emotions behind the lyrics well. He follows with Cold
Hands, which provides a nice
change of pace to the set. Playing livelier guitar contrasted really
well with the deeper vocals, where the melodies seemed to reflect the
bittersweet nature of the lyrics. This song in particular had some
good developments from verse to chorus, with some interesting chord
changes.
Photo by Cassia Helme
Bite The Wax continues
down the relaxed folk road, with flawless fingerstyle technique with
twinkly harmonics adds to the delicate nature of the song. Beautiful
lyrics decorate the melody further in lines such as “Each night I'm
alone, is another night from home. Do you not know you'll always find
a way, trouble is I've always been this way”. The melodies feel
pure matched with delicate vocals, and the song seems melancholic,
but somehow still sprinkled with hope from the fingerpicked style of
playing. Following this number, Jamie decides to take off his hoodie
for the big reveal... A custom made Josh Wheatley t-shirt, featuring
a 15 year old josh on the front, followed by #FollowTheSmook on the
back! This prompted a roar from the audience in appreciation and
laugher, and as I said before, the evening was certainly a supportive
one, and this is exactly how lovely Nottingham's music scene is. But
after the big reveal, Jamie plays Atoms,
a soft song reminding me of the music of Laura Marling or Damien
Rice. The descending melodies reiterates points made in the lyrics
regarding the struggles of relationships. With lyrics like “She'll
never understand me, I'll never underestimate your love” teamed
with the gorgeous melodies, it's hard not to fall in love with this
song. The quietly performed guitar enhances the intimacy of the music
and the venue, bringing the audience and Jamie closer together.
Photo by Cassia Helme
You'll Never Fool My Heart Again
brings yet another change of
pace, where the bittersweet folk melodies come through on the guitar,
and these have some more momentum to them. The deep vocals painted
with vibrato are heartbreaking and lovely. Ending the set with a
beautiful number, asking the audience “Ever wondered why?”
through the lyrics is a beautiful way to complete a gorgeous set,
leaving questions lingering in their minds. Yet one question that was
not left in their minds was the question of his talent – as he
obviously has a bucket full of it.
Next
up to be squeezed onto the stage was a slightly smaller version of
New Communication, a usual 8 piece group, and this time they were
backed only by MJ Lynch on his guitar. The closeness of the members
on the stage really promoted their intimacy as a group, and enhanced
the community feeling of the entire evening. What struck me about New
Communication was the wonderful contrast of all their vocal styles.
The female vocals from Lucia and Alia were gorgeous and really added
to the aesthetic of the music, whilst the male vocals from Mitchell
provided contrast, and the rap vocals from Jordan really enhanced the
delivery of the songs by pushing them that little bit further. They
are obviously close as a group, as they danced and were enjoying
themselves on the stage, which only helped the audience join in. The
guitar grounds all the singers, providing the anchor to build the
songs on, but the guitar also gave them an extra push, and added a
sense of urgency at times.
Photo by Cassia Helme
Guilty Eyes
is one of their more well known numbers, and they seem very
comfortable with this one, even without the backing of the rest of
their band. The rap lyrics really open the song well with passion and
drives it forward where it is joined by clear passionate female
vocals on the chorus, which bring another emotive side to the song.
It is well executed, and the song structures are really good, and you
can tell that consideration has been taken to the stripped back set.
Never Let You Get Away
was also a track that stood out in particular to me. With the gentle
guitar underlying the passionate vocal deliveries, this sweet song is
surprising too, with fluid vocals often stopping abruptly in the
chorus which keeps the listener intrigued and adds texture to the
performance. The female vocalists often sing in unison, and it would
have been extra lovely to hear some more harmonies during this song
and throughout the set.
A
stripped back version of Lost In The Moment actually
ended their set on a quieter and contemplative tone. All the vocals
are gorgeous and the harmonies demonstrated between the female vocals
in this one are beautiful, and are so lovely to hear. The rap section
beginning the set was particularly great, and also had a gorgeous
delivery. Also when the rap became layered over the female vocals it
really brought out an extra dimension to the track, and was a really
effective songwriting technique. Their set was superb and despite
their diminished numbers, the group performed fantastically and with
a big personality which I can't wait to see in the future.
Frankie
Rudolph's performance was beautiful and passionate, with great guitar
techniques and gorgeous, natural vocal delivery. His melodic
progressions are lovely and combined with the intimacy of his lyrics
he delivers a fantastic performance. His songwriting is considerate
with interesting chord progressions and innovative melodies which are
understated and subtle, which adds to his mystique. He has strong
vocals in all ranges, with an impressive falsetto which promotes a
change in tonality, which is very effective. Frankie has a fantastic
stage presence, having great communication with the audience and
using eye contact well, he's very engaging.
Photo by Cassia Helme
Black and White,
a song from his 2013 EP is particularly impressive. The depth of his
vocals is stunning and their clarity almost feels as if it penetrates
your chest, this makes it highly emotive and rather stunning. The
guitar begins fingerpicked which follows a simple chord structure,
but when he begins to strum the guitar, the change of pace is great
and adds momentum and elevates the song to another level. Frankie has
a talent for lyrical writing too, as they are simple and visual,
which are actually very effective: “So come on tell me what
happened here, everything was good, it was all fine, but the colours
disappeared. It's all black and white.” The bridge section is
beautiful and leads to an instrumental build up which adds to the
undercurrents of distress in the song. Frankie demonstrates excellent
vocal control between his chest voice and falsetto in this one too.
Frankie
Rudolph navigates his way through some more stunning tracks, each
unique and well performed, until he reaches his final set of the
evening. I believe this track was called Bones.
This final song was another change of pace, with broad chords which
were strummed more heavily on guitar. The falsetto vocals over the
heavy guitar really adds a polarity and expanse to the song, and
promotes a sense of freedom and intensity. Excellent songwriting can
be seen in moments such as when Frankie sings “you are my
cornerstone”, and then subsequently erupts into guitar movement
which is just stunning and really emotive. But when the verses come
into play, the guitar is more subtle and lets the vocals shine
through. With lyrics like “I miss you more than anything”, it is
a truly passionate performance, which even prompts the audience into
clapping along, and everyone is really enjoying it. It was a great
performance and I can't wait to see him again.
Finally,
the star of the show arrived on stage to serenade us sweetly. Josh's
set was superb, opening with an older classic of his Sail
Away, but with a new twist as
New Communication joined him on stage and came in on the second
verse. This collaboration created a really close and community feel
to the set, and was a lovely demonstration of the sheer love in the
room that evening. Lucia and Alia from joined Josh on the “sail
away” lyric, which worked beautifully and was utterly lovely. The
addition of Alia's trumpet playing during the song is great, and
added contrast to the acoustic style. Also, Jordan's rap vocals mixed
up this well known Nottingham classic and brought another edge to it,
which worked really well.
Photo by Cassia Helme
Following
this, Josh takes the limelight for himself now playing solo. We were
all there to big up the love for Josh, and so it is so good to see
him performing on his own. Josh sang a sweet song about hair smelling
like chocolate, while he sings with a voice as smooth as chocolate,
he is truly stunning. The melodies have good developments, and the
fast moving sections create momentum which combined with gorgeous
guitar techniques is awesome. Josh then moves on to play I'll
Set Her Free, the final track on
his debut EP Follow The Smoke. The
song is slow, quiet, honest and intimate. The gentle fingerpicked
guitar stirs underneath beautifully sung vocals. The audience falls
into complete silence, as they just seem desperate to hear every
word.
Next
on Josh's setlist is a Biffy Clyro cover of Folding Stars,
which is completely different from the original, with Josh putting
his unique stamp of tender acoustic onto the rock original. Here he
also pushes his falsetto to the limits, and showcases the versatility
of his voice, and these delicately delivered vocals have the audience
still captivated, and clinging to every word he sings. He follows
this with another original from his EP called Give Up The
Ghosts. This song is tender and
sweet in it's lyrics and the simple melodic lines speak honestly and
powerfully; “give up the ghosts from the deeds you sow, lost your
faith a long time ago. Crashed a silence in the rise, demons in those
midnight eyes”. It's gorgeous and tinted with pain and slight
desperation which make it even more powerful. He follows this with
From The Wild, another
track from his EP, and this picks up the pace completely, as it is
much more lively and upbeat. The strummed rhythmic guitar is strong
and firm under the gentle vocal melodies. Anwyn Williams joined Josh
for this performance, offering her lovely voice for harmonies, which
worked wonderfully, and especially with the melodic guitar. It was
very well received by the audience, who enjoyed the change of pace
and the other side of Josh's sound.
The
next song on Josh's setlist in an unnamed number, but one in which he
was encouraged by the audience to “call it Lisa!”. This song had
some great chord structures and a beautiful falsetto delivery. This
song seemed to have more angst than his others, but I think Josh
really pulls off angst well, and I enjoyed this new colour to his
music. The lyrics such as “I lost my hurricane” also help nurture
the distressed undertones to this song. He follows this with Best
Of Me, singing in a similar
falsetto style, he continues engaging the audience so much so that
they join in at times. This song has tones of Eva Cassidy which
really suits Josh's style. Somehow listening to this performance
feels almost intrusive, as if listening in on an intimate
conversation.
Photo by Cassia Helme
He
'ends' the set with Follow The Smoke,
the title track from his debut EP, and one of his most favourite
songs. The vocal melodies are almost pleading at times, with a hint
of desperation, and the truth in the song brings its honesty to the
surface which is so raw it's heartbreaking at times. The audience of
course participates and sings along in the chorus of “follow the
smoke”. While everyone sang along in that moment, it just felt
really emotional in that room, as we were all there to support Josh
Wheatley, but by extension, the entire local music scene, and it was
a powerful coming together of everybody through something so honest
as music. It was truly special.
Of
course though, that wasn't the end of Josh's set, as he brings out an
encore of Bury My Heart,
which is a lively contrast to Follow The Smoke.
Josh plays some beautiful harmonics on the guitar during this number,
which I can't help but feel adds to the specialness of the gig as a
whole. The song is subtle and sweet, and the lively bridge is a great
change of pace. This even prompts some very cheesy dancing from the
audience members! But this still wasn't enough for the audience, who
demanded a second encore, to which Josh played a slightly adapted
version of Follow The Smoke,
entitled Follow The Smook as
a homage to the custom shirts seen throughout the evening. Josh
mentions that the songs meaning feels slightly compromised due to
this new lyric, but actually the laughter and enjoyment brought
through this joking around actually enhanced its meaning for me, as I
will never forget that performance and the atmosphere of Pepper Rocks
that night. A big shout out to Katey Dawson for organising a superb
event, and a huge round of applause for all the amazing performers,
and an extra special mention of Josh Wheatley for his amazing talent
and fabulous new EP, which you can buy off iTunes, Amazon, Spotify,
or in person. I seriously suggest you do.
By Cassia Helme
