OKAY KAYA 

Live reviews

• OKAY KAYA

  Okay was supported by James Canty, who was incredible. Mainly unplugged, but with occasional beats and a wonderful pianist for two songs, this was deep, soulful, powerful music. Never heard of him before, but check him out.

  Okay played her entire set accompanied only by her electric guitar. Her voice is surprisingly deep, with a sensual warmth and huskiness, so much so that I felt caressed by it. And in the intimate setting of Old St Pancras Church it was at times a transcendent experience; just that voice and her slender frame in the candlelight, surrounded by religious icons and the over-arching vault with its sun and dove symbols.

  Okay is so open and ingenuous you kind of merge into her. At the same time she was almost shy, almost arch, whispering brief asides about where she was at: 'this is how I'm feeling right now' before 'If I Die Soon' and then, 'I've been getting myself into the mood with this disco track' before playing a cover of Leo Sayer's 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' - a version that was wrought into a unique, almost harrowing song of love torn from a tender heart.

  Before each song Okay seemed to be searching inside/outside herself for inspiration, as if her songs existed in some hidden dimension; at one point she moved her head around and around as she fingered the slow chords and then said 'I can't find the tempo!' Everyone laughed. There was laughter scattered throughout her performance. The young women in the audience particularly seemed utterly entranced by her coy vulnerability.

  Introducing her last song of an incredibly short set she said 'I don't think my guitar's in tune... oh well, I can't be bothered to change it..!' Then she laughed and proceeded to tune it anyway, finishing with the profound 'Damn, Gravity'. Over the very last notes, the church bell began to strike ten o'clock. She looked up with a wry smile at each chime and then finished the song to rapturous applause. She'd only come on stage at 9.30. I felt slightly bereft by the performance's brevity, but still deeply touched by her presence and the equally resonant soulfulness of James Canty.

  Read more

  Report as inappropriate

  by hud-saunders