ELLE EXXE - 'LIE TO ME' SINGLE LAUNCH SHOW AT THE ISLINGTON, LONDON APRIL 2ND - LIVE REVIEW
Have you listened to Elle Exxe? If not I highly recommend you do so!
On April 2nd, I travelled all the way from West London to Angel to visit The Islington for the first time, the reason for the visit? I was invited to check out the fresh and much-promising pop artist Elle Exxe performing live at the launch party of her new single 'Lie To Me'.
I was lucky enough to witness three more acts on the bill who performed in this 'compact' but cult venue, lying inside The Islington. The stage was equally as bijou, with no evidence of exaggeration in its decoration, covered by lush red drapes and lit by some discreet but colourful lights. The sound quality was more than acceptable compared to the space limitations and infrastructure.
Being recently introduced to Elle’s trademark 'dirty' pop sound, the first thing that crossed my mind was how is she going to fit herself onto such a small stage and do her “thing”. As I saw it, the stage liked more appropriate for acoustic, unplugged sessions, I guess time would tell!
I have to admit, Elle managed to leave me utterly speechless, she and her 3 bandmates (electric guitar, bass, synth & drums) jumped on stage right after the penultimate act The Mighty and the Moon. More specifically the 3 men that accompanied her were dressed in black & white one-piece outfits with their faces matching the same colour scheme!
The band transformed this old-fashioned stage into a space age, electro, lunar soundscape that reminded me of a more contemporary version of legendary electronic pioneers, Kraftwerk.
The previous occupants The Mighty and the Moon's glockenspiel gave its place to a Roland SH-201 synth and the show kicked off with Elle grabbing the mic and moving all around the stage in her tight black leggings and flashing shoes like an 80’s electro pop icon.
Her high energy levels and engaging manner towards her audience instantly filled the room with excitement which started to rub off on the audience. This unspeakable energy along with her stunning voice compelled you to move with her and forced everything else from your mind, mundane matters, mattered no more. Elle’s psychical movement matched the music which spanned from pop to electro with punk elements, instrumented precisely by the robust electric guitar, solid drum beats, electric synths and driving bass line.
The show lasted for about an hour, yet it left me craving more. Elle presented her new single “Lie to Me” along with some of her unpublished tracks and all we can do now now is sit and wait for her album to go public when more people can enjoy the fruits of her labour.
As I mentioned at the start of the write up, there were other acts on the bill, these were;
Stephen Langstaff - Melancholic acoustic rhythms, drawing upon indie and post rock sounds, laid back guitars enriched by Stephen’s smooth vocals.
Laura Oakes - Country, folk rock, soft and romantic voice, laidback sound.
The Mighty and the Moon - Indie. impressive distinct vocals, acoustic rhythms. Bonus - cajon instead of drums and melodic glockenspiel
Social Media (for Elle Exxe)
We have created a small gallery of images taken at the gig, please click HERE to see it.
Review by Eirini Gialou
Photography by Eleni Deligianni