Music > Live Reviews

Kitty Perrin, Alice-Lily, and Ledbyher: Stripped Sets live

13/08/21

 

 

It’s a mellow, summer’s Friday night when you duck through a nondescript door halfway up Timber Hill. The bar of Voodoo Daddy's is happily bustling with customers, but you’re focused on something else: what’s about to happen upstairs. You can feel the bass thrumming through the building, feel the hum and anticipation of a grinning crowd waiting for the gig to unfold. This is Stripped Sets first ever live gig; in a short six months, the platform for under-represented artists in Norwich has rocketed from live session recordings to selling out venues, featuring the talents of up and coming artists Alice-lily, Ledbyher and Kitty Perrin.

 

 

Alice-Lily set the tone for Stripped Sets’ inaugural gig perfectly; her rich, soaring vocals and lyrical sincerity enraptured the crowd from the very first song. Alice’s lyrics draw from a place of deep, emotional expression and clarity, drawing heavily on her youthful experiences and family history. This is the kind of lyrical playfulness that warms you up from the inside and sends chills down your spine. ‘Durag’ is a quintessential example of this; Alice’s soulful tones, dreamy bass and hypnotic drums form a beautiful ode to Alice’s relationship with her mother.

 

‘I've got my durag on

Tied the way my mama showed me how

I’ve got my durag on

As she whispers, girl you’re making me proud’.  

Alice also explores experiences of growing up Black in ‘Stand up’, a powerful and urgent piece written in response to global BLM protests and racial prejudice. Her vocals seem to tumble into each other; in ‘Stand Up’’, it heightens the tension, whereas ‘Clocks’ lyrical playfulness encapsulates the comforts of the past. This is a band flowing with their own sound; they banter with each-other and the crowd throughout, building the atmosphere in the room to one of electrifying happiness.

Much of Alice’s original, soul and R&B-infused music captures this positivity perfectly. ‘Best Part’ is the perfect, soulful soundtrack for lazy hedonism; Alice’s dexterous lyrics and falsetto flair conjures the sensation of weekends spent lounging under sunlight with no particular place to go.

Alice cements the musical comparisons to revered vocalists like Pip Millett and Amy Winehouse with her closing song; Valerie, by Amy Winehouse. Despite this being her second ever gig as Alice-Lily, she certainly made a radiant impression. Alice Lily’s performing again at Wild Paths festival this October 14th – 17th; you can stay up-to-date on @alicelilynenne on Instagram.

 

It would be hard to top Alice-Lily’s stunning performance, but up and coming band Ledbyher, fronted by plucky 17 year old Rachel, had a more than bloody good go at it. Ledbyher’s energetic, commanding stage presence and dance-ready beats only added to the already wildly positive atmosphere, interspersing originals with fan favourites like Piri’s ‘Soft Spot’.

 

Pianist and producer Jack’s melodies twisted elegantly through the beats and bassline, layered with Albie’s dreamy electric guitar and Rachel’s soft vocals - with the occasional pop of Norfolk accent filtering through, of course. Rachel describes her sound as ‘musical soup’, and the label fits; Ledbyher’s sound is reminiscent of the soft vocals of Pink Pantheress, lyrically constructed with the hilarity and absurdity of a Marc Rebillet set, filtered through a small town lens and drenched in a distinctly queer attitude.

The jubilant atmosphere was heightened further by Rachel’s cheekiness as the band vibed with each other, with the crowd and vice versa. A lyrical slip was followed by the rhyming line ‘technical difficulties in my brain’; this slip may come as a surprise, but this was, unbelievably, Ledbyher’s first ever live gig. Rachel’s admission of this fact caused genuine pandemonium in the crowd; Whilst Rachel and the band seemed as relaxed and comfortable as her dungarees, we all collectively lost it at the talent and energy pouring off the stage.

You're alive you lot are! Your energy is wild
I don’t know what it is but you got it’ – Rachel of Ledbyher.

 

A particular lyrical standout from the set was ‘DRIVING TEST’, which is not one for subtlety:

 

‘Fucked up my driving test….

What am I fucking up next?

OK, that’s alright

I can just ride Central Line for now.

 

I’ll let it speak for itself. Another crowd favourite was ‘TOOTIRED!’, which marks a notable shift into a slower, darker sound towards the end of the song; the bouncing, upbeat drum and bass dramatically slows, drawing us into a melancholy mood perfectly complimented by Rachel’s mournful vocals. And just like that, it was over; Ledbyher’s set may have been short, but it packed a hyper-powerful punch. You can see Ledybyher next at Mysagarden on 21st August, supporting Mumbletide, and keep up to  date with the band @israchelhome on Instagram.

 

Following this musical whirlwind of Alice-Lily and Ledbyher, we finished off Stripped Sets with our headliner; the extraordinarily talented Kitty Perrin. Kitty has previously been featured on BBC Introducing East, and you can absolutely see why; her gorgeous, lilting vocals soared around the room as the crowd turned from energetic to enraptured. Kitty’s voice is chilling; her music emits a dreamlike radiance, built on a foundation of slow, rich bass and heavy use of the kick drum. The tone of this set was far more folk-like, in a sizable shift from the supporting acts, however it flowed absolutely perfectly; like Alice and Rachel, Kitty’s vocals can more than hold their own in their respective styles.

 

 

Kitty treated us to an abundance of unreleased tracks, both accompanied and solo; she flitted between electric and acoustic guitar, silencing the room with the intricacy of her fingerpicking and the deceptively powerful softness of her vocals. Her layered vocals and heavy use of looping create ethereal moments in time before quickly disappearing - the listeners’ hairs are left standing on end as her music flows, building in power and complexity. The intertwining guitar, bell-like keys and vocals are reminiscent of waves playing across the shore; they may appear to function in isolation, however their playful overlaps merge to create an emotive force that rises and falls with all the power of a tidal wave.

Lyrically speaking, Kitty’s music is deeply contemplative and emotive. Whether she’s recounting watching relationships fail on good terms in ‘Stick it out’, or embracing ‘Bad luck’, her music is defined by its soulfulness, its layering and its lemon-sharp lyrical honesty. This pensiveness may be expertly translated by Kitty’s haunting vocals, but it is also elevated to its enrapturing status by the extreme talents of Kitty’s band; Joe Maguire's bass is spellbinding, whilst Alexander Carson’s gorgeous, bell-like keys dance across the majority of the tracks in a perfect complement to the searing delicacy of Kitty’s lyricism.

‘Bed Space’ was a standout crowd favourite; Kitty’s final track had the entire crowd beaming at each other, dancing together and belting the chorus back to the band. This moment captures the beauty of Stripped Sets; everybody in the room, from crowd members to musicians to organisers, was beyond happy to be there.

The love in the room for Stripped Sets founder, Priya Oades, was also palpable; partly because of the quality of her work, and partly because of Stripped Sets’ aims and ethos. Priya began producing sessions whilst at uni, working with a team of creatives over the lockdown. As Priya says, she had the time and equipment over lockdown to direct her energy towards supporting others. Priya wanted to put her skills towards lifting up other people who are currently underrepresented, or struggling to break into the music scene; producing content for other young artists, LGBTQ+ artists and artists of colour.

As Priya says, ‘These people should be in the room anyway, but with Stripped Sets we have an opportunity to provide a platform to get them there. You do what you can, and at Stripped Sets we do what we can.’ If that’s not worth supporting, I don’t know what is.

 

You can see Kitty Perrin’s next live gig at Norwich Arts Centre on 20th August, and keep up to date with Kitty’s work on @kittyperrinmusic on Instagram.  

For more of Stripped Sets, check out www.strippedsets.com and  @stripped_sets on Instagram.