The Soulful Charisma Of Zak Abel – Live At Koko

by | Oct 12, 2017

British singer-songwriter Zak Abel has the kind of voice that forces you to stop, listen, repeat and flood your music feed with his back catalogue. The 22-year old rising star and born and bred North Londoner first gained attention after lending his vocals to Gorgon City’s Top 20 Hit Unmissable in 2014. Since then he has carved out his status not only as one-to-watch but one-to-collaborate with.

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

He played a sell-out gig at London’s KOKO this week, supported by winner of ‘Best Solo Male’ at the Unsigned Music Awards in October 2016, Mullally, who performed an edgy, neo soul set that included She Don’t Know Me and provided the perfect warm up for Zak. The Camden venue was heaving with a loyal fanbase and by the time the band came on stage to set up, they were chanting ‘We want Zak!’ in near-on delirium.

Mullally supporting Zak Abel at KOKO (Paul Lyme)

Mullally supporting Zak Abel at KOKO (Paul Lyme)

Kicking off with the up-tempo All I Ever Do is Say Goodbye, Zak gave an energetic performance; bounding up to the drummer’s platform and dancing along with the crowd with his hands raised like a conductor guiding his dutiful orchestra. He seemed genuinely bowled over by the crowd’s response, saying ‘Man, it’s such an honour to be with you guys!’ with a grin.

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak’s music has been described as ‘soulful electronica’ and he has the talent to seamlessly blend the two genres, proven on tracks These Are the Days and Alchemy from 2015’s EP Joker Presents (on which he teamed up with Bristol-based producer Joker) that sounded impressive live. 

He shared with the audience that the first gig he went to at KOKO was Bonobo when he was seventeen, admitting he didn’t actually get in because he was too young. So it’s good to be finally let in!’ he said with a laugh before dropping the funky Say Sumthin from his 2015 EP One Hand on The Future. It was performed effortlessly, showcasing a voice beyond his years and had the engaged crowd shouting every word.

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak’s set was a fusion of earlier and well-loved material, including Soul Child which had its first live play in the UK on the night, and tracks from his debut album, Only When We’re Naked released on 12 October 2017. OWWN is an accomplished record but when performed life, something happens to the tracks. They come to life, take on a shape of their own. For Awakening, the crowd were asked to sing along and ‘shout like you’re in a football stadium’ and the result was choral and rousing.

Supported by a tight band and gifted backing singers, every track was delivered with passion and raw natural talent that made it all look effortless. Flow was an off-setlist track, requested from the crowd, and he gamely went along with it, protesting affably that it would be ‘unrehearsed and acoustic and I’ll probably forget 50% of the lyrics’. He didn’t and it was a smasher. 

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

It would have been an injustice not to showcase some dazzling collaborations on the night, having worked with some of the industry’s most exciting artists, writers and producers including Wretch 32, Kaytranada and Eg White. He recently featured on Jarreau Vandal’s Make You Love Me, a jazzy, futurist track with a soulful vibe and it proved a brilliant inclusion to the set.

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

An enthusiastic roar of ‘Who knows Tom Misch?!’ was met with a huge cheer from the crowd and Beautiful Escape was a luminescent reminder of his partnership with the producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Misch from his Beat Tape 2 album. He was later joined on stage by British singer Sinéad Hartnett whose beautiful vocals complimented Zak’s perfectly for a velvety cover of Childish Gambino’s Redbone.

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak’s songwriting shows superior composition and his lyrics are reflective and meaningful. He has spoken about experiencing tough times as well as good times, and a sense of introspective is weaved into his music and words. Deserve to be Loved tells the story of a good relationship ruined because he felt he didn’t deserve to be loved – his favourite track on the album – and it was performed with the simple message that everyone deserves to be loved no matter who they are. Zak has the ability to do heartfelt and deeply personal well without too much sentimentalism and it was a moving performance.

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Still Want UUU, a standout track from the new album which grabs you and won’t let go and the album’s title track, Only When We’re Naked, were the final tracks of the main set and saw Zak commanding the stage and looking like he was having the time of his life.

After an obligatory selfie with the crowd, he performed his penultimate track; the uptempo Beautiful Life which was amplified with the soaring voices of his backing singers. The artist has spoken of his love of Ghanian Highlife and many of his tracks sound inspired by the melodic and rhythmic structure of the genre. Arguably, the night had been building up to the final song, Unstable, a brilliant track with a gusty vocal, feel-good sound and infectious beat and hearing it live didn’t disappoint; it made for a triumphant ending to a great night.

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

Zak Abel (Paul Lyme)

He ended the night with an earnest ‘Thanks and I love you!’ and going by the reaction of the crowd it’s safe to say the adoration is reciprocated.

Zak Abel is clearly on the road to superstardom with a growing fan base, critical acclaim and already bagging a date at the O2 Shepherd Bush in March 2018. With an expressive, rich voice and tons of soulful charisma with a contemporary edge this is classy music you can really feel (even when you’ve got your clothes on).

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

SOUNDCLOUD

Live Review by Nicola Greenbrook and Photography by Paul Lyme. Zak Abel at Koko on Tuesday 10th 2017

 

https://rockshotmagazine.com/29092/sigur-ros-mesmerise-at-hammersmith-apollo/

PUP (Vanessa Heins)

PUP Drop Wild New Single ‘Olive Garden’ And Plan Outrageous Album Launch Party Ahead Of New LP ‘Who Will Look After The Dogs?’

Toronto punk powerhouse PUP are back with a characteristically unhinged new single, Olive Garden, a gloriously heavy...
HAIM (Terrence O’Connor)

HAIM Announce UK Arena Tour And Intimate Margate Show Ahead Of New Album ‘I Quit’

The HAIM sisters are coming back — and they’re bringing arena-sized ambition with them. The GRAMMY®-nominated trio have announced a full-scale UK arena tour for October 2025 in support of their newly revealed fourth studio album, I Quit, due out 20th June via Polydor Records.

Humour (Megan Di Pinto)

Humour Announce Debut Album ‘Learning Greek’

Glasgow's Humour have shared news of their much-anticipated debut album Learning Greek, landing on 8th August on...
Incubus @ The O2 (Kalpesh Patel)

Incubus Announce New Album ‘Something In The Water’ — Their First in Eight Years

US rock trailblazers Incubus have officially broken their studio silence, announcing that their long-awaited ninth...
Black Spiders @ Signature Brew (Louise Phillips)

Black Spiders Battle Against Spyder Byte For St Georges Day At Haggerston’s Signature Brew

St Georges Day can mean only one thing, a battle of the Spiders at Signature Brew in London’s Haggerston, giving me a second chance to see Spyder Byte 8 years or so after the last one, opening for the mighty Black Spiders who are on tour to promote Cvrses the band’s latest album. It’s now over 27 years since I first saw Black Spiders main man Pete Spiby performing in Groop Dogdrill opening for, among other bands, The Cramps.

Incubus @ The O2 (Kalpesh Patel)

Incubus Bring Morning View To Life At London’s O2 Arena

"Thanks for letting this record be a part of your lives, it's literally given us ours" Brandon Boyd gushes at the...
Lorde (Thistle Brown)

Alt-Pop Icon Lorde Kicks Off Striking New Era With ‘What Was That’

Three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Lorde has made her triumphant return with the release of her brand-new single, What Was That available now worldwide through Universal Music Group. After months of cryptic teasers and social media blackouts, What Was That marks the beginning of a daring new phase for the New Zealand-born artist, celebrated globally for her visionary pop sensibilities and emotional depth.

Mother Mother @ Troxy (Kalpesh Patel)

Mother Mother Release Fan Favourite Single ‘Love To Death’

Globally-celebrated alt-rock band Mother Mother release the new single entitled Love To Death. An early leak of the song first surfaced on YouTube back in 2009 and has remained a part of the Quadra Island, British Columbia group’s lore ever since.  A fan favourite, unofficial uploads have generated hundreds of thousands of plays, and fans have even devoted Reddit forums and entire comment sections to the track as they awaited its formal release.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing