It seems like it's been a long time coming but the new EP from London vocalist Dionne Reid has finally arrived and as the title suggests, it really has made us SMILE.
Dionne's music is a mix of classic & modern soul with elements of reggae, dancehall & lovers rock and she sites Lauryn Hill as her main inspiration to make music. She's probably best know to date for the track 'Daddy Dear' which gained plays on Radio 1 & 1 Xtra last year, as well as a live performance on the BBC's Glastonbury TV coverage.
The arrival of the EP was celebrated and officially launched with a performance at Something For Sunday (somethingforsunday.co.uk), the fortnightly music and comedy night held in East London, where Dionne regular performs.
With musical support on the night from the fabulous Ella Chi and the laughs provide by KG Tha Comedian, it wasn't long before Dionne took to the stage.
Although in the company of many friends and musical peers, she was still a little nervous as she arrived in front of the capacity crowd, but the nerves soon washed away as she performed a mash-up of Gnarls Barkley's Smiley Faces and the EP's first track, the appropriate titled 'Here I Come' (which references the Barrington Levy classic of the same name).
Dionne seems very at home on stage, as well as being blessed with a beautiful voice, she has a good manner with the audience and her stage banter is genuine & naturally funny too.
Next in the set was 'Champion' (a reworking of the Chipmunk/Chris Brown hit), which was
followed by the beautiful and touching 'Angel' a song dedicated to her late Grandmother. Then came the only non-EP track of the night 'She Can't'
A live version of the EP's title track was next, S.M.I.L.E (which incidentally stands for See Meaning In Life's Experiences) brought a tear to the singer's eye and even choked her on the last note, but this did not stop the entire audience giving her a standing ovation.
Almost at the end of the show, we were presented with the EP's final track Back-Up which was given an almost latin flavoured treatment and Dionne's impromptu (but not totally serious) dance routine *the robot moves were the best.
The crowd wanted more and were still waiting to hear 'Daddy Dear'. They were not disappointed when Dionne rewarded them a faultless version of the song that had the entire audience providing backing vocals and brought us to the end of the night.
Later I listened to the EP in full. Having already heard the songs live the studio versions were as good if not better. The EP is also cleverly interspersed with short interludes, including a lovely snippet of children describing what a smile means to them as well as a cameo appreance from the legend that is 'Papa' Reid.
As a whole, the EP is just a strong and coherent as many full length major label albums out there today and comes thoroughly recommended, especially if you like the sound of what you've heard so far.
Below is just a short snippet of 'Here I Come' but for more information on Dionne or the EP, please visit dionnereid.com
No comments:
Post a Comment