Concert Review: Kokoroko, World Cafe Live
October 13, 2024
Photography by Stanley Collins
On Friday, October 11, Kokoroko — the London-based, eight-piece band — made their stop in Philadelphia at World Cafe Live. The show comes as part of their debut, North American Tour where the band will play 13-cities across the United States and Canada. In part, the tour is in support of their forthcoming EP, Get The Message (due out November 1st!).
For Kevin and I, this is a tour we’ve been waiting on since coming across the band in 2020. After the show, we talked about finally being able to see Kokoroko, the sonic connections between Philadelphia and London, ancestral recall, what it’s like photographing a concert, and much more! Here’s our conversation:
Stanley: Thanks for doing the review with me! I’m giddy lol. But ok, how did you come to Kokoroko’s music? And maybe more importantly, what drew you to their music?
Kevin: I know we share a ton of music with each other so you might not remember, but you actually sent me their project a minute ago, I think it was their Kokoroko EP from 2019. I remember liking it enough to keep tabs on them and they were from London - there will be more on why being from London is important in a moment.
What initially drew me to their music was simple honestly. I’m going to take from Terrace Martin who did an interview on the R&B Money podcast recently where he used the term, “ancestral recall,” to describe Kendrick’s rapping on To Pimp A Butterfly. Terrace Martin said that Kendrick was rapping like a Jazz musician. Kokoroko’s music seemed to be pulling from places that my spirit and body remembered and resonated with. Music influenced by African traditions (Afrobeat) with a mix of Jazz and Neo-Soul. That initial EP was cool to me. But their project Could We Be More was the one for me. The song compositions were well done. Great diversity throughout the track list. The bass playing, too! And the singing felt spiritual. Like, they weren’t in it to see who could deliver the best vocal runs. Felt more like worship. Or ritualistic. I do think that is something that drew me to them and I think a lot of music is that. Something that may not be tangible but you feel.
I want to know what you made you giddy! What about them drew you to their music?
Stanley: I love that reference to Terrace Martin and his use of ancestral roll call! I feel that, as well as a deep spirituality, worship even, in their music, too.
I'm looking back at old playlists, and it seems like it was March 2020 when I first came across them. It was the month they released their single Carry Me Home, which was an absolutely crazy time. In the intro for the March 2020 playlist, I wrote: " March - the month that felt like it would never end - is finally coming to a close. The month, overwhelmingly dominated by the rapid spread of COVID-19, staying at home, and social distancing, also provided some great musical moments." Kokoroko was certainly a bright spot, a moment of relief, for an otherwise tense and scary time.
Like you, I was drawn to the vocal performance and the simplicity and the honesty in the lyrics: "carry me home, carry me with you, follow me, follow me home". I loved the shuffle on the drums -- the very clear connection to Nigeria; to Afrobeat; to Fela Kuti. And yes, by the time their debut album dropped, I was fully in the tank. What a great name for an album too! Could We Be More is something I find myself saying to myself whenever some crazy nonsense happens — like, not even related to the album necessarily lol — but desiring something more than the moment has to offer.
Kevin: Back to the London component. There was a moment in the show where Onome, the percussionist, went on a significant sidebar shouting out Philly music and its impact on them and the music they make. I’m what Noname would probably call a “nigga that thinks a lot”, like J Cole lol. So, I just want to tee you up as the only historian I know to talk about the impact Philly has on the music coming out of London specifically. There seems to be a Philly to London pipeline with The Roots, Floetry, etc. But also, Philly’s place as a musical backbone currently (I’m counting The Roots backing many artists coming on Jimmy Fallon, Adam Blackstone doing every major award show/event, etc.).
Tell me it’s not just my Philly colored glasses seeing these connections.
Stanley: I would have you know that I happen to have the same prescription for Philly color glasses as you. But that was a really great moment in the show — I was visibly cheesing — and a connection that I could feel listening to their music. To have that feeling verbalized was special.
Questlove has talked about The Roots moving to London in 1993 on a number of occasions. In part, they moved because there was an appreciation for musicianship and live performance in the UK that they didn't feel was present in the US, or at least not in the same ways. You can hear London's influence on The Roots at the end of You Got Me when Questlove starts playing these fast breakbeats. This was a deliberate homage to Drum and Bass, the genre that grew out of the UK's Jungle Scene in the '90s.
In episode 2 of my podcast on the Black Lily, I spoke with Professor Philip Lamarr Cunningham. He wrote an article on Neo-Soul and its origins. In the article, he points out that the term "neo-soul" had been used as early as 1987, and was often used to describe British artists like, The Brand New Heavies, D-Influence, Jamiroquai, Omar Lye-Fook, Seal, and Soul II Soul.
On the other hand, in the US, Philly becomes this hotbed for Neo-Soul, too. A few years after the Roots returned to the US, they -- along with the Jazzyfatnastees spearheading -- start The Black Lily, an open mic that became a breeding ground for artists like Jill Scott, Bilal, Jaguar Wright, Lady Alma, Jazmine Sullivan, Kindred The Family Soul, Eric Roberson, Robert Glasper, and so many others. The open mic has become synonymous with Neo-Soul, the genre. Now, from what I understand, the word about the Black Lily had traveled across the US, and overseas. After starting in Atlanta, Floetry — Marsha Ambrosious and Natalie Stewart who both are from London — made their way to Philly, in part, because of the Black Lily. This is all to say there's a deep connection between Philly and London, and Kokoroko exists within that lineage.
Coming into the show, what were your expectations of Kokoroko? Was there anything that surprised you about their performance?
Kevin: I tried my best to come in with no expectations. Though I was also giddy, I didn’t know how they would translate what is done in the studio to the stage. And man, the magic carried over! I liked that they allowed themselves enough creative space to improvise and not feel like they had to perform the songs just like it is performed on the album.
There were moments that felt like a Stevie Wonder show lowkey. Yohan, on the keys/synth, had a number of solos. And they jammed out much more than I would have anticipated.
My favorite moments of the show were when they performed (1) Dide O, (2) their new track, Three Piece Suit (more on this later, and (3) the cover of Only You by Steve Monite. They covered this song towards the end of their set.
I believe the energy from that last song spilled over post-show where a significant portion of the audience stayed to dance to some Stevie Wonder hits. I’ve only seen that one other time where the audience stayed afterwards unprompted to dance, and that was a NAO show at Union Transfer some years ago (London!).
There was some Khruangbin level concern trolling from me in that - mainly instrumental bands can potentially lose the energy of an audience if the sound is not diverse enough. Listening in our headphones or at home is one thing. But a live show needs some thought in how it’s structured to keep their attention span. I thought they did a great job! They had some legit singers that also doubled as horn players. The talent was in the room lol.
What did you think about the show?
Stanley: I did not see the Steve Monite cover coming at all! lol But, in hindsight, it makes a lot of sense! It was cool to see, and they added their own touch to it.
Prior to the show, I don't remember watching much of them online, like other performances and stuff. So, I came into this show relatively blind. I was impressed by their consistency in energy, the diversity of sound they produced, how dynamic the show was overall. I really liked their cover of Jean Adebambo's Paradise, an incredible Lovers Rock tune I wasn't familiar with before the show. To me, performing a song like Paradise is a part of the ancestral recall that you mentioned (imma wear this out now, thanks lol). As a style of music, Lovers Rock is a product -- an outcome -- of a particular experience of Blackness. Which is to say, Blackness in the UK is a unique melding of cultures from the Caribbean; cultures from continental Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, and so on. Kokoroko is the culmination of that.
Kevin: You also photographed the event. You had an official sticker after all lol. How does photographing an event affect your experience/enjoyment? Does it aid or take away from it for you at all?
Stanley: To me, photographing an event makes me hyper-aware of the room and what's happening. Like, I'm paying attention to the show, but I'm also looking for how the band and the audience are experiencing the show. I don't feel like it takes away from my experience -- I like moving around and standing still kinda makes me bored (not a reflection of the artist, but my own mental capacities lol).
I would also say that photographing a band also presents its own set of challenges, wanting to make sure you can fit everyone in the frame while not quite having the angles to get to them. For example, Onome, the percussionist, was sort of tucked toward the back of the stage. I don't have the best solo photo of him, but I knew if I went to the second level I could get the entire band in the frame.
Something else I had to consider was how to compose photographs of horn players - particularly instruments like Trumpet and Trombone that obstruct the face. For example, I started the night on the right side (facing the stage), and noticed that Noushy, the trombone player, had her trombone resting on her left shoulder, which meant that I couldn't get a clean look of her face. Plus, when she extended the outer slide tube I also couldn't see Sheila's face, trumpet player who was standing next to her. Standing directly in front of them also poses a problem, because the horns are blocking their faces. So, to remedy this, I composed photos of the horn players from the left side (facing the stage) for a clean look. There's a similar process for photographing guitars, but here I'm primarily thinking about if they are right handed or left handed — an indication if I will be to their back or not.
Kevin: Also crowd watch! What did you think of the audience makeup. This is our thing so we have to comment on it.
Stanley: I loved seeing who was in the room for this show! There was a nice mix of young and old, I saw plenty of Black folks (maybe it was mostly Black?), people wearing keffiyehs, someone with an Assata Shakur bag, and so on. I think we're both interested in this question of who's coming to shows for a variety of reasons, but it's especially interesting for Kokoroko, given this is their first North American tour and the room was packed! It's not always easy for non-US acts to tour North America because it's hard to know who will show up.
Kokoroko played a few tunes from their new album. What do you think about their new material?
Kevin: I want to hedge here as much as I can. I liked the new material but a live show as good as this one can be very persuasive. I liked the new tracks but I want to return when the album drops.
I do want to take some time to shoutout the track Three Piece Suit again though. The artist singing on the track — Azekel — was not there but Hurcules — the bassist — stepped up and was incredible. I believed it was the only time he had a solo all night and I just wanted to again say that the talent was in the room. It feels like London/UK is having a creative moment in music overall. In a country like America, where the arts and communal/public spaces are continuing to be privatized, taken away and/or commodified to no end, London seems to have found a recipe that facilitates the arts in a way that makes me jealous.
Band: Sheila Maurice-Grey (Trumpet, Vocals); Noushy (Trombone, Vocals); Yohan (Keyboards); Tobi Adenaike (Guitar, Vocals); Onome (Percussion); Hercules (Bass, Vocals); JC (Drums)
