Lonelyworld 003
@ Selina Camden
Recipe Used:
This is a special one in a few ways. The first being that this post is coinciding with an interview via my Podcast "What's Good?".
For those unaware, WG has been my outlet for doing interviews & weekly current affairs for over three years now. I used to transcribe interviews via The 5th Element – my Hip-Hop blog – but once I started WG, I decided to do interviews from there.
I have linked the coinciding interview in the first paragraph, but we'll talk about that in a second.
First: A quick love letter to Camden.
The iconic Camden Lock
So as it says at the end of every post, I was born in Camden. Saying that comes with emptiness sometimes, especially when I tell people I only resided there for the first six months of my life.
That emptiness always comes with thoughts of what would’ve I been like if I was born and bred there. I’m sure I’d be a completely different person.
Existential thought aside, I really enjoy being in Camden, it’s a wonderful place for taking photos and has so many good spots on one stretch of road.
The upcoming set came in between the interview and the show this post is supposed to be about. We’ll get to it, indulge me.
Okay, now to the actual show.
In hindsight it would’ve been a good to get a general picture of the setting but never fear, I can paint a picture.
Selina is primarily a hotel with a bar on entry, located between The Roundhouse & Chalk Farm Underground.
Whilst it’s a hotel, downstairs is where the magic happens; a very intimate space, beautiful lighting emanating from open light bulbs scattered around the flat stage with these funhouse mirrors backgrounding everything.
As spaces go, it’s one of my favourites.
So let’s jump into the show itself!
What is Lonelyworld?
Lonelyworld is a performance space for upcoming Alt R&B artists, led by this man: John Alone, who was one of the performers that night.
The reason I was there.
If you’re a regular visitor to this here site, you may have seen this man before. Treasure Bloom, who supported another #FriendOf5E, (People I’ve interviewed) Otis Mensah.
Feel free to see that Otis post here. But now that you know the show and why I'm there, let's get into the artists performing. We begin with a singer and poet but – as she said – was only going to do singing.
Faith Mariah
In hindsight I feel a bit bad for Ms. Mariah. As you will see there’s a significant difference between her set of photos and the others.
As the audience, we were encouraged to come onto the floor and get closer after her set.
But with all that said, she was the artist I personally vibed with the most. She was the most “chilled” with her performance and was a great person to kick the night off with. I’m interested to see what her poetry is saying!
You may have noticed the guitar in the back…
Deon Graham
Coming through with some clean licks and plentiful “when I say Deon, you say Graham” call & responses, I got some old school Craig David vibes from Deon.
He has music out and I’d definitely recommend it if you like a smooth beat with some guitar on top; he could easily branch out into some funk or Hip-Hop fusion if he wanted to. Respecting the retro style Madrid shirt as well.
Next up was an artist fresh off moving to London from Dublin:
Jennifer Yusuf
How do you feel about cover sets? I was asking myself that question in the seconds between her saying that it was a cover set and beginning the set.
And then she began to sing “At Last” by Etta James.
The answer is “If they’re great, it doesn’t matter whether its original work or cover.”
I love that song to death and the way she bossed it was all I needed. Other covers included Amy Winehouse, (her favourite artist but not lost on me that we were in Camden of all places) Adele and a tribute to the recently passed Olivia Newton-John.
Next, the latest official #FriendOf5E!
Treasure Bloom
With his roots in Metal music; now fusing the self-proclaimed emo energy with contemporary R&B, Electronica & other flavours. The dual threat gave what refers to as his more “relaxed” set.
I talked to TB hours before the event over some food and you can spin that interview over on “What’s Good?”. As stories go, it’s an interesting one, especially when it comes to music.
Next up was the founder.
John Alone
An artist with plenty of confidence and sexual aura, just by the music you can gather why he’s managed to build an event and successfully curate it.
It's only the third one he's done, (Hence '003' in the name) I can only imagine what a creative boost of this magnitude can do for his own artistry.
Before the final act, I wanted to big up two women keeping the show going in multiple ways.
DJ Sàshi
In the foreground, DJ Sàshi keeping the vibes before, in the break and after the show.
Monique
And in the background, Monique with the Engineering and keeping the artists happy with their own sound.
Very refreshing having black women keeping things going on both fronts.
Okay. Final act, the headliner.
Bianca Baz
Flanked by a small army of friends, Bianca Baz came through with infectious energy and a voice you will be hard pressed to hear anywhere else.
Very light in tone but packs a punch in delivery and highly confident subject matter.
And that was all!
I feel like this day really confirmed why I enjoy the things I do. I enjoy getting to hear stories that you maybe haven’t before, I enjoy spinning new people and discovering.
This night ticked a lot of boxes for me and can’t wait for the next one.
Charlie Taylor
chillicharlie.taylor@gmail.com
Born in Camden, North London.
Bred in Leigh-On-Sea, Essex.
Screenwriter/Podcaster/Photographer/
Hip-Hop Student.