Kwabs - Koko, London 16/10/14

2014 has proved to be Kwabs’ year. Things have moved on significantly since he appeared in the 2011 BBC documentary Goldie’s Band: By Royal Appointment where the DnB pioneer brought together young musical talent who had had a troubled start to life (Kwabs was brought up in care). Later that year, over 100,000 people watched a YouTube video he posted covering Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Like A Star”. It’s been a year that’s flown by in a flurry of growing crowds, expanding venues and EP drops.

Kwabs has honed his futuristic RnB alongside producers SOHN and Dave Okumu; bass-heavy with spacious, minimal beats peppered with glitchy electronics. Current neo-soul is creaking under the weight of a roster of voices including Sam Smith, Jessie Ware, Elle Eyre, Kwes and Azekel, but what’s going to set Kwabs aside from the crowd is his voice; booming, throaty yet smooth as honey.

As his deep baritone trembles powerfully over the clattering beats of “Pray For Love” and through the throbbing bass and rising piano of gospel-indebted “Saved”, he holds his arms wide, eyes to the sky. The effect is spiritual - a vibe that continues throughout tonight’s show. Kwabs has a knack of packing guts, hope and trembling emotion into every velvety, sensuous note. “You all know this one,” he murmurs before slick dance moves and tropical keys herald the start of “Into You”.

“Wrong or Right” (recorded with SOHN) with its cluttered beat, brittle textures and icy twinkles is Kwabs’ swansong and gets the biggest cheer of the night as it bleeds squelchily from the speakers. But it’s “Last Stand”, another SOHN-helmed number, that’s his best, and rawest-insides-on-the-outside, song to date. Vocally, Kwabs is best filed aside quintessential old soul, Raphael Saadiq and 90s singers D’Angelo and Maxwell, and the way his voice navigates the highs and lows climaxing with a dizzying falsetto proves he can sit comfortably with such esteemed company. But the way the song snakes its way around tumbling synths and spacey echoes with intestine-wobbling bass couldn’t be more 2014 if it tried.

Kwabs is in the process of crafting a sound that will be utterly timeless. Thank god he seems like he’s mastering those nerves too, because from now on in the crowds are only gonna get bigger.

• Photo by Wunmi Onibudo. See the full gallery here.