London – After being tipped as one of the BBC’s ‘Sounds of 2013’ and shortlisted for the Critic’s Choice Award at the BRITS, the year started off on all the right notes for AlunaGeorge. Breaking through proper towards the end of 2012, the duo (Aluna and George, see what they did there …) have sailed through 2013 on the crest of a wave, performing sold-out show after sold-out show in support of their debut album Body Music, released by Island Records in July. We headed down to Shepherd’s Bush Empire to catch them at the end of October, to see how the intricacies of their stellar debut album translate on stage.
After a somewhat lengthy wait, (no complaints, support act MØ were fantastic), Aluna Francis took to the stage with her partner in pop George Reid in tow and immediately got the packed crowd in party spirit, launching into album track ‘Just a Touch’. Although one of the reasons for the strength of Body Music as an album is the quality of the more laid-back tracks, Aluna seems set on dancing tonight, holding the mic out to the crowd as she moves about the stage. One hopes that George might also want to break out in dance at times, but that it might somewhat affect his achingly cool image.
The band’s singles, ‘You Know You Like It’ and ‘Attracting Flies’ are greeted with a rapturous reception, with a wall of euphoric teenage screaming erupting whenever George plays the opening bars. Songs such as ‘Outlines’ and ‘Interlude’ don’t elicit quite the same response, despite being played through superbly, with this upbeat atmosphere perhaps not the best forum for these songs to flourish.
There’s a cover of Montell Jordan’s ‘This Is How We Do It’ which was sung back in full voice by a crowd largely made up of people definitely not music-conscious upon its original release. The track, which features a sample of the awesome Slick Rick classic ‘Children’s Story’, was included as a bonus on Body Music, which gives some explanation as to why it was so familiar to a couple of thousand people born in the early-mid nineties.
Aluna and the crowd danced throughout the whole of their relatively short set and the noise inside the venue reached fever pitch as AlunaGeorge retook the stage after a short break to play through one of 2013’s best tracks ‘White Noise’ as the night’s encore. The song, which is a collaboration with their friends and contemporaries Disclosure, reached #2 in the UK singles chart upon its release in February, only beaten to the top spot by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ multi-platinum selling ‘Thrift Shop’. It’s an incredible song to have in such a relatively young band’s arsenal and will no doubt be a staple of their live shows for years to come leaving everybody exiting the venue in the highest of spirits. With just one album and a handful of singles under their belt, the passion of AlunaGeorge’s fans is testament to the quality of their released material. No doubt there’ll have been some there just to hear the singles which have been ever-present on the playlists of the UK’s biggest radio stations all summer, however, the whole of their set was pretty damned strong. The band then provide something for everyone; if you want to listen to some quality production, and some of the catchiest singles of this year, grab a copy of Body Music, if you’re more inclined to dance your arse off whilst listening to those same singles, go and catch the band in the flesh next time they’re in town.
Photos: Slider Micah Young Above: Aaron Corr
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