Words: George Gibson
Exactly ten days after supporting Bastille at the academy, Clean Bandit returned to Brixton as part of their first UK headline tour.
Since releasing their first single ‘A+E’ late in 2012, the Cambridge born band have been reeling in fans with their effortless mix of classical and electronic sounds. After the support act, Mausi, played the same song 6 times, the unique quartet (joined by singers Florence and Elisabeth) brought their sound to the stage. From the moment that the first distorted electronic chord was played, it was hard to miss the sheer joy that radiated from the band and it soon proved contagious. With Clean Bandit’s debut album still in the works, their set consisted of a mix of hits; exciting unreleased songs and even a few covers to keep the fans purring.
Although the presence of strings on both SBTRKT’s ‘Wildfire’ and Robin S’ ‘Show Me Love’ worked so very brilliantly, violins and cellos aren’t always good. Time and time again the sweet classical vibes seemed to drown in the heavy beats, to the point where both Milan’s and Grace’s best efforts were barely audible. As a fan, this was particularly disappointing because some of the songs seemed to lose what made them great in the first place. Gig goers were left buzzing however by the last song appearance of vocalist and all-round talent Ssegawa Ssekintu for the group’s biggest hit, Mozart’s house. All in all, Clean Bandit appear to be shaping up quite the album and even with some imperfections, they sure know how to put on a show that you won’t see the like of from anyone else.
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