Kwabs – Village Underground, London 10/04/14

Listening to Otis Redding a week or two ago, someone asked me “Man, what happened to voices like his? He was 26 when we died. Can you imagine discovering you had a voice like that, and before you turned 26?” With a vocal ranged pitched somewhere between obnoxiously loud and distinctly flat myself, I had to answer with a laugh and a resounding “No, I could not imagine that.” After the conversation passed I realised I could name someone who most probably did know what it was like to discover he had such an incredible voice so young, and probably also went some way to answering the crucial first question: Kwabs.

Don’t get me wrong, the 23-year-old Ghana born, London native is not really anything like Otis Redding – not in the way it could be said artists like Rough Trade newcomer Benjamin Booker are – but he is the owner of a powerful, booming baritone quite unlike anything else. And we bet it was something of a revelation to the man himself.

It wasn’t long ago that Kwabs found himself on supporting bills at places like The Shacklewell Arms, but as last year took a turn into winter, something other than the cold took hold. It was that voice; that smooth, soulful, shakes-you-to-your-core voice of his that had people suddenly realising that Kwabs could actually do a whole lot wrong while still sounding amazing underneath it all. Thankfully, with a little help from 4AD favourite SOHN, everything that has emerged since has been just right.

Announcing his arrival to a sold-out Village Underground with blazing lights that spelt his name, Kwabs emerges on stage a man transformed; one+ whose confidence is soon bolstered by the by the size of the venue and whooping enthusiasm of those here to see him. He has moves. He has bravado. He has some seriously heavy bass going on, which reminds us that of course it isn’t all about his voice, it’s also about the beats, the incredible production, and the band behind him.

Modern R&B hooks meld with punchy, glitchy electronics and echoes of classic soul producing the rich kind of textures we know he creates on record but weren’t sure he’d be able to bring to the stage. Settling into his stride after opening tracks “Love & War” and “Into You”, Kwabs launched into the as yet to be heard “Something Right.” Throbbing bass and rising synth lines support his voice as it enters falsetto territory for a soaring, call-to-arms chorus and wonderfully futuristic, almost sci-fi electronic flutters. It blind sides us and before long the familiar tentative rumblings of “Last Stand” wash over the crowd.

Using his cover of Floetry’s “Say Yes” as the opportune moment to remove his full length coat, he jokes “I don’t usually sing songs like this, ‘cos, I think this is utterly filthy, and it was not my intention to make any babies tonight!” His Dave Okumu co-written number “Spirit Fade” proves Kwabs to be an adventurous artist who may have found his soulful groove but is capable of creating a varied body of work. Final main set number “Walk” – with its slick 90s hip hop beats – really exposes just how incredible the individual elements of his songs are, even as independent entities.

Delivered with some serious charisma, “Wrong or Right” marks the opening of the encore and the highlight of the evening. Arms are thrown in the air. Hips shake. People sing along with the kind of devotion rarely given to a new artist in this part of town. Clearly humbled by this evening’s show, Kwabs takes things down a notch with set closer “Perfect Ruin” and – though after the show there are grumbles that he should focus on his more up-tempo, modernist strand of soul – it couldn’t be a more fitting choice. Consisting of nothing but his voice and a piano, “Perfect Ruin” goes straight for the gut and reflects the purist, songwriting side of Kwabs – without which, the rest of tonight’s set would have been a very different story.

Lead photograph by Paul H.