The launch party of the new Laid Bare record label and its first release from singer songwriter Chris Belson brought a beautifully feelgood evening of spell-binding acoustic performances to the Ritzy this week.
Brixton was treated to music from four talented artists on Thursday this week to trumpet the release of Moon Songs, the new EP from Chris Belson, and the first release on the Laid Bare Records label. Appearing on the stage were Gabriel Moreno, Hattie Marsh, Cecilia Meadows and Chris Belson.
Gabriel Moreno opened the evening and began with delivering heartfelt congratulations to Rami on his new label. As well as bringing a strong Mediterranean flavour in his guitar style, there always appears to be an underlying dark side to the humorously ironic slant that Gabriel delivers in his lyrics.
Being a talented spoken word performer as well as accomplished musician, we were treated to a wonderful coupling of Hattie Marsh on guitar as Gabriel relayed the story of ‘Singing Opera to the Llamas’.
Hattie Marsh then began with a beautiful acapella rendition that sent shivers through the room. With powerfully clean and clear vocals I didn’t even feel I could allow the shutter noise on my camera to break the mood during her first song. Her delicate guitar plucking and range of vocal dynamics kept the room entranced throughout her set.
Cecilia Meadows then joined Gabriel Moreno for another spoken word interlude to add some theatrics to the night before her own set. I was really taken by her impressive vocal range. Her low tones and reverberant humming that echoed the guitar drones, gave her sound a very haunting yet melodic feel.
Then, of course, the evening ended with a captivating performance from Chris Belson. This is the third time I have seen Chris perform and I was, as always, charmed by his vocals. The warm bass of his soothing voice and intimacy of his lyrics connected with the audience immediately and kept everyone in the room entranced throughout.
As well as chatting to everyone in between songs in a very humble and candid manner, he also spent some time in giving his respect to two great artists that the world has sadly lost this week, David Bowie and Alan Rickman.
For me one of the most memorable moments of the night was a group performance from Cecilia, Hattie, Gabriel and Chris of David Bowie’s ‘sound and Vision’. The coming together of these musicians and their mutual respect for each other’s talent and for those that we’ve lost added something quite special to the event.
A beautiful night of music and a great beginning for this new record label. Look out for future releases coming up this year as well as the ever popular Laid Bare Live nights at Fu Manchu and the Ritzy.
You can find out more about upcoming Laid Bare nights on their website.
[…] month I went along to the launch party for new local label Laid Bare Records. The evening featured a headlining performance from Chris […]