Obaro Ejimiwe AKA Ghostpoet has pulled off one of the best albums of the year so far with his second album “Some Say I So I Say Light”, and expectations were high as he took to the stage at sold out Village Underground venue.
One of the remarkable things about Ghostpoet is how he has been able to defy genre; being a black poet does not have to be as confining as it often tends to be. Whether your musical background is Radiohead or Dizzee Rascal you should find something to love here. He's avoided all the usual rap clichés and bravado, and produced work that's humble, honest, and really moving.
Does it work live? Boy, does it! His live band are excellent, and the crowd are really up for it. Everything feels really genuine; he seems genuinely humbled by the response, and the audience response feels genuine.
The songs really translate well live, and even the first album material which, on record, felt a little under-baked in places, has really come to life and shimmers with intensity; a testament to how far he's progressed over the past couple of years. Singles like “Cash and Carry Me Home” and “Survive It” produce waves of euphoria through the crowd. Of course, the new album sounds great in a live setting, and stand-out moments of the record, like “Plastic Bag Brain” and “Sloth Trot”, duly keep their intensity, Obaro even brandishing an electric guitar for the latter. His voice is sounding great and his performance is passionate, often building towards a crescendo of repeating phrases that create moments to lose yourself in.
This being London, the stops are pulled out and we get cameos from Lucy Rose, replicating her part on “Dial Tones”, and the wonderful Woodpecker Wooliams (interviewed below) who appears on-stage for what may just be the single of the year, “Meltdown”. She's in fine voice and cutely dances through the wonderful extended finale of the track.
The night felt like a real tipping point; seeing an artist on top of their game in a small venue and seriously delivering. He's got a way to go before seeping into mainstream consciousness but on the strength of last night, he's well on his way. Absolutely sublime. Heck, I'm glad I was there.
Interview – Woodpecker Wooliams
There'll be more to come from Ghostpoet collaborator and solo artist Woodpecker Wooliams later in the year, but for now here's a little snippet of our interview in the build-up to the show.
So how did the Ghostpoet collaboration come about?
It was kinda by accident. I was on a train up to a gig in London and I just happened to check my emails, had a message from his manager, who I'd never spoken to before, saying “Hi, how you doing, we're looking for a female vocalist, would you be interested?”, and I was pretty busy and a bit stressed getting to this gig but I thought I'll just reply and say ,“Yeah, fine”, didn't really know what was gonna be involved, then he called me up almost immediately and was like, “Brilliant, if you want to do it we're recording today and tomorrow”, so I just sort of turned around on my route and cancelled the meeting I was going to before the gig, and got a train across town to where they were recording, couldn't listen to the song on my phone, so basically got there, met Obaro, heard the song, and then it was 'Right, you've got to record now', just really quick, and I hadn't done anything like that before either, so it was kind of a challenge.
It's quite scary to think that it might not have been you on that track, because your voice is so perfect on it. Can you listen to it for pleasure?
I can't listen to my own stuff, I never do, but this I can listen to. I think that was probably what worked about me singing on it, that it really moved me the moment I heard it, the string arrangement at the end, he'd put some rough vocals on it, and it nearly made me cry when it got to the end.
It's such an emotive part of the album, it's so instantly affecting. For an “urban” artist to have that much heart and accessibility to it...
That's what I really like about his stuff, that there's something really raw about it I suppose, really authentic. It grabs you, there's real feeling in it.
Did you have any input on the track?
The lyrics were there, but he kind of muttered them as the rough take. I could hear a potential melody there but it wasn't explicit, so I tried a few things. I was trying to match what he was doing with his voice, but it's almost spoken word a lot of the time, you can sort of hear where it's going, but...
Do you think collaborations are a good thing, or are you concerned about being pigeon-holed, or being known for a period of time as “the vocalist from the Ghostpoet track”?
Although it happened unexpectedly, the more I think about it, I really like the idea of collaborating. It's like a cross-pollination thing, mixing elements from different genres or different sound pallets.
Ghostpoet's new album “Some Say I So I Say Light” is out now and includes “Meltdown” featuring Woodpecker Wooliams. Buy it!
For more info on Woodpecker, visit www.woodpeckerwooliams.com
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