Okay. You know it. We’re all stuck in quarantine. We may have been living off peanut-butter toasties and seeing how long we can leave our hair unwashed because, well… just because. But at least we’ve still got the internet (oh, holy one!) and the music. With everyone being stuck indoors, we have a brand new online series for you: Lockdown Live Lounge.
Lockdown Live Lounge invites our favourite artists, local and afar, to live-stream a mini gig from their homes. Every Monday and Thursday at 2pm give your ears and eyes a little hug from the freshest talent across the UK. An intimate experience direct from living room to living room, we invite you to sink into our ‘Lockdown Live Lounge’, but from the comfort of your own home. You don’t even have to get dressed to go out.
We kick off this week with alternative RnB queen iamkyami. This gal is no stranger to the Melodic Distraction airwaves, with her monthly radio show ‘Kickback Culture‘ providing us with the slickest sounds and the most valuable life lessons. But instead of spinning the sultry vibes that influence her own material, she’ll be performing it for us live from her humble abode. iamkyami’s self-produced work is lo-fi but velvety smooth; the playfulness of 90s hip-hop mixed with the conscious-driven lyricism of neo-soul. Championed by Bido Lito!, LIMF Academy and Culture Deck to name a few, this New Yorker now has her roots firmly planted in Liverpool and a place in our hearts. She’ll also be in yours after her intimate acoustic set on our Facebook page, Monday 20th April at 2pm.
Following this, we’re ecstatic to invite Pete Cunningham of Ishmael Ensemble into our homes! As a multi-instrumentalist and established DJ who divides his time between the club and the live circuit, Pete and his band defy categorisation. He initially bubbled up in the early 2010’s amongst an emergent class of young producers, blurring the lines between jazz & house music. With a history of incorporating live instrumentation into his electronic productions, it wasn’t long before Cunningham enlisted a group of old friends to expand his sonic palette further: enter Ishmael Ensemble.
The group have performed at venues & festivals around the world whilst being an integral part of the U.K. Jazz scene. The Bristol-inspired records variously bridge fleet-footed jazz, lush downtempo, modulated electronica, Fourth World tones, and all manner of stirring sonic swells. Not to mention, an electric live set that we were lucky enough to catch back in November at Manchester’s Soup Kitchen. You can listen to the full live set plus our exclusive interview with Pete here, and prepare for a Lockdown session that will undoubtedly be much more intimate yet just as special. Join us in the same place on Thursday 23rd, 2pm.
|| IAMKYAMI || ISHMAEL ENSEMBLE ||