Ghostpoet LIVE @ Hackney Empire 24.10.13

With one fist pumping the air Obaro Ejimiwe, otherwise known as Ghostpoet, walks onto the Hackney Empire’s stage. To the right of me an over excited fan spills their beer and we both watch as it is absorbed into the spongy carpet like so many the pints before it. The house is full from top to bottom. Hailed as the most beautiful theatre in London, its painted ceilings and sloped floor win me over.

Left leg tapping Ghostpoet launches straight into the first song ‘Gaassp’, while lazers beam out across the faces of the audience. Ghostpoet himself is lit from below, all lips and teeth, highlighting his main instrument. He performs, head cocked to the right, emphasising the words with one hand and holding the microphone with the other. Accompanied by a live band of drums, keys, guitar/bass/synth and a string quartet, he commands the stage like a well practiced front man decked out all in black. His high collared shirt unbuttoned that bit too far, he gives the crowd a double thumbs up and says ‘Hello London!’

Jumping and twirling throughout the night, Ghostpoet whips the crowd up into a hyped frenzy. Not one person is seated yet it is clear that no-one is having more fun than him. He moves about the stage feeling the beat with every part of his body.

Tonight’s special guests are three female vocalists, Elizabeth Temper, Fabiana Palladino and Etta Bond who join him for ‘Dial Tones’, ‘Survive It’ and ‘Meltdown’ respectively. Each brings a complimentary contrast to Ghostpoet’s deep baritone.

The real secret weapons at his disposal are his lyrics, delivered in his sleepy slurred style, he recites his poetry to an eclectic musical backdrop. A stream of consciousness over his hard to pin down sound which dips into everything; electronica, drum n’ bass, classical. At points it becomes difficult to make out the words but that doesn’t take anything away from the energy of the night.

He plays 15 tracks in total, taken both from his Mercury Nominated debut album ‘Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam’ and his latest offering ‘Some Say I So I Say Light’. He ends the night with ‘Us Against Whatever Ever’, miming the final drum beats and cymbal smashes with his arms pounding through the air as two girls above me make heart signs with their hands, beating them towards the stage.