‘THERE’S ALWAYS ONE MORE SONG’: AMAHLA STUNS SOLD OUT LEXINGTON CROWD WITH OLD SCHOOL SOUL

The groovy bass line of the first song of the night, Have Mercy, permeates the air and is immediately met with cheers. The song begins off simply, working mainly off of Amahla’s soothing vocals and the repetitive line of the bass guitar. However, just as the crowd settles into a comfortable steady sway, the music swells into a full bodied chorus with sweet harmonies. The tempo change is enough to disrupt the sway but is welcomed.

The upstairs room of the Islington lounge bar, the Lexington, is comfortably full for a Monday night. Faces towards the front of the stage are bathed in a purple glow, also illuminating Amahla and her 5 piece band. The crowd is lively and exudes happiness into the red walled, cozy room. It is also fairly diverse. Young and old, male and female and multiple different races. An example of the singers’ broad appeal.

Flowing on from the strong opener she performs Dorothy’s Verses, a song for her grandmother, including actual audio of her grandmother speaking, and Consider This which she wrote on the number 30 bus. Both songs show off her strong and diverse vocal range. Consider This however does so more than the other as it is just Amahla and backing vocals, no instrumentation.

The wonderful thing about the singer/songwriter, apart from her music, is that she is a storyteller. She loves to share little anecdotes with the crowd. Almost every song was accompanied with a story as to why or how it was written. This really strengthened the already intimate atmosphere and brought us, in a sense, closer to the performer.

After a vulnerable chat about a point when she no longer wanted to be a musician, she introduced River. This song is everything good about British soul. The easy beat, the plucky acoustic guitar, the melodic piano and of course elegant vocals. Everything melds so perfectly together. Although Cliché, you can’t help but imagine the song being used in an early 2000’s romantic comedy.

Politics is also extremely important to the young singer. Many of her songs have a political undertone. We were presented with a piece of something like spoken word poetry but sung. The song (the only way it can really be described) These Times I’ll Wait is, to an extent, a commentary on current political situations and people being fed up. The contrast with her earlier performances made it stand out starkly. Furthermore, the timing of each pause between lines allowed the words to really hang in the air and take full effect.

In the Moment, written in collaboration with drum and bass duo, Brookes Brothers, is fun and energetic, with an incredibly infectious bassline. It is also reminiscent of some of the work produced by band Rudimental. It was obvious the band really enjoyed performing this song. They were up and about grooving together on stage. Amahla and her guitarist also performed a rendition of John Mayer’s I’m Gonna Find Another You, which was quite hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric.

Chants for “one more song” were met by the band. After a brief moment off stage, they were back again ready to entertain. “There’s always one more song” Amahla laughs. Her choice of song was perfect. Not only musically wonderful but a back story as to how she became a soul singer. The chorus consisting of “I was only three years old, when I fell in love with old soul”. At points she quiets the band and invites the crowd to sing along with her, they join nervously at first then with more fervor. The song continues its stunning and moody melody before ending to ecstatic hoots and hollers.

At no point during the performance do you feel as though Amahla is singing and the band is purely for backing. Every song showcases the talent of the members and there is a real relaxed and friendly nature between them. You get the feeling that it is just a group of friends having a jam and the audience just so happens to also be there. Their performance is true to the recordings, if not better.

Amahla is at all times charming and down to earth. Delightful to both watch and listen to. Her music is beautiful and each lyric poignant and thought out, no beat ever wasted. It is no wonder she has been chosen by o2 to represent the #keeplivealive campaign. Although admittedly, she only really figured out her sound this year, it is in no way shown. She is a singer who truly belongs up with the other great names of British soul. If you take anything away from this review, please take this: Go see Amahla live, you will not regret it.

Check Amahla out on all good streaming services.