I thought I would share some of my favourite live performances, featuring artists from across the globe. These artists demonstrate that songs don't have to remain in their recorded form, but can be revised, reworked and rearranged to create something that sounds completely different. Here is part one of my favourite live performances!
1.Banks (live performance of Contaminated- taken from her third album III)
I first heard Banks' music through a radio premiere of her song 'Gemini Feed' featured on her second album 'The Altar'. Banks is known for experimenting with different sounds to produce dark empowering songs that are introspective and discuss themes related to the human mind. This acoustic 1 Mic, 1 Take performance of 'Contaminated' is an example of Banks' talent in reworking her songs to create a performance that feels quiet and intimate.
2. Bastille - Bad News (soundcheck session)
Dan Smith (lead singer of Bastille) is known for creating songs that balance sombre storytelling lyrics with strangely euphoric melodies. The band's sound has drastically changed since their 'Bad Blood' era but this acoustic version of 'Bad News' showcases the band's signature sound with Dan's haunting vocals echoing in an empty venue. 'Bad News' features on the band's ongoing series of mixtapes 'Other People's Heartache'.
3. SIRUP- LOOP for The First Take Series
SIRUP is a Japanese singer-songwriter whose unique style of blending hip hop/lofi beats with Rnb melodies has placed him at the forefront of the underground Tokyo-music scene. Featured on the renowned YouTube series 'The First Take', this acoustic performance of 'LOOP' strips back the track's heavy production with SIRUP's vocals placed at the centre of this performance. His vocals are so effortless and calm whilst beautifully accompanying the track's stripped down instrumentation.
4. Aurora -Murder Song for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015
It's hard not to be transfixed when watching Aurora's live performance, this is an example of the Norwegian singer-songwriter's talent for capturing her audience with minimal instrumentation and eerie vocals. This performance is now 6 years old but despite making music for years the singer has only recently gained a wave of new fans through her song 'Runaway' that became popular on TikTok. I hope that her rising success will continue because she is a unique artist who needs to be heard.
Check out the performances from Banks, Bastille, Sirup and Aurora in the links above, Part Two is coming soon.......
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