Skinny Pelembe

Green Door Store, Brighton

Wednesday 26th September, 2018

A recent signing to Brownswood, as part of their excellent Future Bubblers series, Skinny Pelembe performed a set that highlighted his creativity and originality, with assistance from a top class band. Talented bassist Alley Lloyd also provided vocals on some of the numbers propelled by the drumming of Remi Graves, but it was Skinny Pelembe’s stage presence and his engaging and original compositions that were the most captivating.

With vocal stylings reminiscent of Willy Mason, it’s often difficult to work out who Pelembe sounds like, but he combines his own set of influences with his highly original style to sound very much like nobody else. This was particularly evident on the highlight of the set, I Just Wanna Be Your Prisoner, with its relentless industrial rhythm contrasted with warm vocals.

Many of his compositions interweave highly personal (and at times surreal) lyrics with beats taken from samples as well as his own experiments. The end result is a genre-defying mixture of sounds and rhythms that mix together to create something different.

Pelembe ended the gig with Spit/Swallow, showcasing his ability to mix elements of hip hop with catchy guitar riffs and sparse vocals. Skinny Pelembe is certainly an artist that can provide audiences with an enriching experience, full of originality.

Charlie Anderson

(Photo of Skinny Pelembe by Lisa Wormsley)