HOUSE & GARAGE ORCHESTRA | LIVE REVIEW

The Globe, Cardiff, Sat 24 Nov

The revival of UK garage is bolstered on the shoulders of those that revel in nostalgia. Those that long for the times of the two-step, shellsuits and pirate radio. This was evident in the Globe’s crowd on Saturday. The atmosphere was very much reminiscent, the renewal of misspent youths and forgotten weekends “jammin’ until the break of dawn”. It was pleasing to witness artists providing this throwback performance that was well and truly appreciated by its audience.

It was refreshing and impressive to hear iconic UK garage tracks performed with live musicians and instruments. However, it would be fair to say that the scale of the House & Garage Orchestra couldn’t really be considered orchestral, unless in a semi-ironic manner. At the same time, the amalgamation of live instruments and garage vocals was ultimately appealing no matter the scale. The wind instruments have a much more brash effect when performed live, although at times the non-electronic bassline didn’t quite hit the same spots as they do digitally.

The vocal performances were a real highlight, the soulful and powerful voice of Kele Le Roc [pictured] halted the crowd from their two-stepping at times. MC Neat provided his usual blend of smooth melodic singing with archetypal UKG MCing and phrases that were instantly repeated by the crowd. He even went acapella on A Little Bit Of Luck, which made “holla with the rinsin’ sound” resemble a chant.

Although the magnitude of the performance wasn’t exactly as expected – albeit likely due to my own misguided assumptions – the artists and musicians made up for this with their visible passion for the genre. They’ve clearly mastered what was/is the garage scene and adding this twist breathes new life into some iconic tracks.

words CAMPBELL PROSSER