Comparisons have been drawn musically between Kwabs and a lot of artists; be it D'Angelo, Sampha or Jacob Banks - but after tonight, it became clear Kwabena 'Kwabs' Adjepong is in a realm entirely of his own.
The South London boy with a Ghanaian heart will be one to keep your beady eyes on in the near future. He may have taken to the stage half an hour later than billed; but once he did, any prior discontentment was forgotten quicker than an X Factor winner's name.
Kicking things off with his signature brand of neo-soul in the form of the ethereal jam 'Pray for Love', Kwabs was more suave and relaxed than he's ever been as he grooved and swaggered his way round the stage.
His voice is one that is instantly unforgettable: a smooth, velvety baritone that could make even the worst Nickelback song palatable. Highlights of the show were undoubtedly when Kwabs would whittle his band down to a single piano or guitar and we could hear his voice in all its full, unabated glory. 'Perfect Ruin' and an utterly brilliant rendition of his popular cover of James Blake's 'The Wilhelm Scream' were textbook examples of this. Both were a spellbinding few minutes in which you could hear a pin drop, and when you couldn't, any intrusive noisemakers were feverishly shushed.
Stand-out tracks included 'Into You' from his brand new Pray for Love EP; a dance-y tune with an African vibe and 'Wrong or Right', which the singer saved somewhat teasingly for his short but sweet encore. KwabsÕ songs, while all musically pleasing in their own elegiac way on the surface, hold at their lyrical centre a candid yearning that is at once unsettling yet devilishly easy with which to empathise. It all makes for rather addictive songwriting. Kwabs, we salute you.
