If he ever gets disillusioned with music, Charlie Dark should become a preacher or a politician. Not only does he manage to make the crowd of eighty people move from the seated balcony to the front of the stage, but he insists they cheer before the band even begin. Only then does he move back to his turntables, give a wide grin and announce: "We're Attica Blues and we're here to tell you stories."
Though they're lacking some essential pieces of equipment ("The last time we saw them they were on a run-way in Paris!") the London-Egyptian trio spend the next forty-five minutes composing a beautiful stew of hip hop, jazz, reggae and Afrobeat.
Programmer Tony Nwachukwu focuses his attention on squeezing layers of seductive sounds from his keyboard and vibes, whilst singer Roba El-Essawy alternatives her golden-tonsils between soaring, moaning and crooning.
The undisputed leader of the group, Charlie Dark doesn't just listen to the music; he lets it ride through his body, anticipating each new sound with another intense body rock.
Occasionally he adds vocal licks to Essawy's luscious growl, but mainly he divides his energy between triggering bowel-quaking beats and intriguing samples. The majority of tracks also receive at least one scratch interlude, but this adds rather than detracts from the music.
After warm renditions of 'Mangled', 'Look At Yourself', 'It's Not Enough', 'The Man' and 'What Do You Want', Attica Blues introduce their secret weapon: the spine-tingling 'Deeper'. The second track on their new album 'Test. Don't Test' (Higher Ground), 'Deeper' pulls the listener into a sound scape of phat beats, dark keyboards and eerie vocals. In short, it's one of the most emotive songs since Tricky's 'Suffocated Love' or Attica Blues' own 'Blueprint'.
Way back in 1994, Attica Blues were lumped in with Massive Attack, Morcheeba and Portishead under the sub-genre 'trip hop'. Yet tonight's show was more deep and soulful than anything produced on MoWax's legendary 'Headz' compilations.
Conscious that people are finally starting to realise this, Attica Blues leave the stage with massive smiles plastered across their faces. "Tonight was the unplugged, ragged and pure experience" announces Charlie Dark. "We'll be back and next time we'll be raw."
Words by Sarah Jane
