AlunaGeorge LIVE @ Westfield Presents

For those of you who have been under a stone for the last week, Alunageorge have released their debut album and it’s kind of a big deal, K? ‘Body Music’ has single-handedly seized the zeitgeist whilst emphatically creating a new one and has ushered in a glorious new era of musical fulfilment hitherto unknown to a music-loving nation yearning for something new. Alunageorge are spearheading an R’n’B and dance resurgence that’s breathing fresh life into the British music scene, their futuristic sound a rejuvenating force that has created a perfect pop entity that is SO FUCKING NOW!

Or so some overzealous types would have you believe.

Whilst it is true that Alunageorge have produced a strikingly polished and confident debut full of strange, soulful and sexy songs, in the more exuberant corners of the press they have been subject to some hyperbole. It’s understandable and perhaps befitting of their current standing as King and Queen of ‘future-pop’ but it tends to overlook one thing; how have they captured the hearts and minds of many music lovers so absolutely? Seeing them perform a live, stripped back set goes some way to providing the answer.

Westfield Presents is a new live music showcase for emerging talent and Alunageorge were on hand to launch the scheme with an exclusive live performance ahead of the release of their eagerly anticipated debut. With Aluna Francis on vocals, George Reid on keys and drummer on electronic pad, this was an Alunageorge trimmed of the oblique production and alt-pop vocal experimentalism that is the hallmark of ‘Body Music’. Here within the consumerist cathedral that is Westfield London, those assembled were about to be exposed to a lesson in straight-up pop perfection.

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Despite being labelled as a ‘future-pop’ act thanks to their more avant-garde leanings, at their core, Alunageorge are a sublimely straightforward pop act. Not so much futurist dance innovators, more pure-pop synthesisers intent on working within a tried and tested framework, however much it has been refracted through a contemporary dance prism. There is a timeless quality to their act that is revealed when seeing them stripped to a bare-bones set up.

Holding centre stage is Aluna, long-limbed and rangy like a denim-clad giraffe, exuding a glacial self-detachment that makes her aloof and all the more intriguing. Her voice, variously described as ‘child-like’ and ‘kittenish’, effortlessly navigates George Reid’s beats on record but unadorned of studio trickery we get a real sense of her unique, insouciant voice. She follows in a grand tradition of female vocalists in dance music – the likes of Lisa Stansfield, Caron Wheeler and Neneh Cherry included – who expertly handled the rhythmic terrain and served a song, never attempting to overpower it with superfluous vocal gymnastics. Aluna Francis isn’t a power singer but she has a beguilingly under-stated vocal quality that slides seductively around the beat. Like the aforementioned singers, she sounds undeniably cool, an essential quality for any successful pop vocalist.

Accompanying Aluna is George Reid on keys, whose stage presence is in a similar vein to Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys fame. Not that that diminishes his crucial contribution as Alunageorge music maker and producer. He is clearly a very gifted musician and his simple backing skilfully reimagines his leftfield production sounds for the piano. It is often mentioned how much hip-hop has made an impact on George’s production, citing early Neptunes and Timbaland as influences. Taking this inspiration through to his keyboard playing, the sparse backdrop allows room for Aluna’s vocals to play in the spaces between. This is a true 50/50 partnership and they complement one another wonderfully. Sharing an almost telepathic simpatico, the duo clearly relish the musical opportunities they provide each other.

The short set offered few surprises in terms of its content, playing through ‘You Know You Like It’, ‘Attracting Flies’ and ‘Your Drums, Your Love’ – songs that are practically Stone Age in internet years – but they’re such fine pop songs that it hardly mattered. It was a pleasure hearing them performed in such a way. It’s definitely an exciting time to be young, British and making dance music – you need only look at the recent success of acts like Disclosure, Rudimental and Hudson Mohawke for proof – and now Alunageorge are making the waves it was predicted they would by the ‘Sound Of 2013’ poll. Along with it being an exciting time for the music-makers, it makes for an exciting time for the listener too. We’re lucky to have in Alunageorge a smart, contemporary pop outfit that is not only forward-facing but also speaks to our illustrious past pop music heritage as well. Get the album; see them live, take part in the pop renaissance. Damn. The hyperbole is unavoidable. Never mind! Alunageorge, we salute you!

LEE DRAGE