Last week Apocalypse Music was invited along to a showcase event hosted by LPR Agency, a UK based independent music PR company founded by the lovely Lydia Reed. Located in the heart of Hoxton, the event took place at the surprisingly leafy and impeccably unique Folklore– a fabulous venue boasting a very important feature- a bar cat! It was a combination that made for a highly atmospheric evening full of enjoyable live music and a general optimism amongst the audience.
The showcase focused on three artists: Flo Gallop, Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez and Barbudo
Kicking off the show, Flo Gallop brought plenty of energy to her set with sparky lyrics making for a decisively fun experience. The support and love for her in the room was tangible and everything about her from the dungarees to her rendition of her latest track ‘sorry for you, mate’ was full of character. To describe Gallop’s aesthetic, I would err on the Gen-Z train with bold almost Florence Given-esque album artwork and witty, relatable tracks that fans of artists such as Maisie Peters and Lily Allen will surely enjoy. She’s definitely worth having a listen to and I would be interested in hearing her tackle something a little more stripped back in the future.
Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez was truly the surprise of the night for me! Having not heard much of her music previously, her undeniably unique vocal tone and poetic lyricism practically gave me goosebumps. The cross-genre Brooklyn based artist stood alone on stage with just a keyboard for comfort and yet had a truly magnetic pull on the audience. Her musings between songs on their meaning and the conversations that had influenced them was highly welcome and even the most cynical amongst us couldn’t help but participate when requested to turn to someone we didn’t know and tell them what we were grateful for…I mean usually I would hate that stuff but for some reason, it felt very natural as part of her set.
A particularly memorable track for me was ‘Better Half’, a song written thanks to the conversations she was having about the concept of women as property and the tradition of taking your partner’s surname at marriage. It’s a gorgeous track with real emotional depth that implores consideration. Be sure to check her out if you get a moment and watch her live if you get the chance!
To wrap up we had Barbudo, a group whose music covers a blend of psychedelia, funk & soul, the perfect low-key party vibe to bring together an evening of music and cocktails. The group performed in a stripped back format however generally consist of songwriter brothers Harry and Ben Stanworth and best friend Elliott Salter. This stripped back form is likely why it felt a tad derivative musically with an exposed funk bass line that every now and again sounded a little close to other tracks; however they certainly delivered a fun set full of rhythm and verve to get people down and dancing. I would love to see them perform as a full band as the overall stylish aesthetic meets funk/soul harmonies is right up my street and they have some great tracks that take me back to my days of being obsessed with French House!
Big shout out to LPR Agency for having us and for introducing us to some great music and the wonderful space of Folklore, Hoxton!
Find out more about LPR Agency and their clients here: https://www.lpragency.com
Words by Hermione Kellow
Photo © Apocalypse Music
