Review: Joy Crookes @ NikeLab 1948, Anaa Haider

BY ANAA HAIDER

Having been a big fan of Joy Crookes’ music for a while, going to her secret show at NikeLab 1948 in Shoreditch was an opportunity I simply could not miss. At around 2:30 p.m. on the day, “one of the most exciting artists to emerge in the music scene this year,’” as highlighted by Vogue, posted an Instagram video with details telling everyone interested to be at the venue before 6:30. We were told it was first come first serve entry to the venue with the promise of food and henna if we managed to successfully make it in. Having arrived early we joined the pre-existing queue (a great call considering everyone arriving after six was told the likelihood of getting in was near impossible.) Once we had received our wristbands, we entered the venue that was once a Nike store but now permanently closed, specially reopened for this particular night and decorated in a way that can only be described as resembling an Apple store. Glass walls and several white platforms were decorated with Nike merchandise making it apparent which brand was sponsoring the gig but overall, NikeLab 1948 was a great location to host such an intimate performance since the atmosphere was one that fit Crooke’s vibe and aesthetic perfectly. As soon as us lucky ones managed to make it in, we were welcomed by a bar offering to serve any drink you wished, completely free of cost. Something that struck me instantly, was how the atmosphere of Crookes’ gig almost entirely encapsulates precisely what her music and message is about: the celebration of diversity and the beauty in collaborations between various cultures. Crookes’ Irish heritage was honoured and represented perfectly by the special Irish whiskey cocktail named after her, whilst the henna stall set up by her best friend celebrated her Bangladeshi side. The catering for the event further represented a different culture, having been organised by her friend and serving everyone Vietnamese food. Not only does Crookes manage to perfectly embody the unification of various cultures within one space, but her fanbase appears to epitomize this, almost as if she herself has curated an audience which perfectly fits her musical persona and essence. Everyone there was extremely friendly and welcoming, with all of us sharing stories of where we came to the show from, finding commonality in our 27

music tastes and the excitement to see one of our favourite artists perform. We chatted about where in London we came from, how we discovered Crookes’ music as well as our music tastes in general, which further showed the wide variety of people Crookes’ music appeals to, as people with highly different musical backgrounds appreciated her sound enough to make it to her show, some even leaving work early for her performance. Before the show Crookes was walking around greeting people and chatting to her friends, even briefly stopping to greet a few of us in the queue for food making her friendly nature clear as well as her genuine appreciation for everyone who came to see her.

As the time crept closer to eight o’clock, Crookes and her guitarist and long-time member of her band, CJ Monneraud made their way on stage where Crookes began on a sincere note, thanking everyone who came out to see her. She started her set with one of her most famous tracks of her most recent EP, Perception, ‘Hurts.’ Crookes’ genuine surprise when the audience sung every word back to her was hard to miss, as she kept saying “Oh my gosh” during the performance, finding it hard to believe how well versed everyone there was with her music. The powerful, 28

soulful voice that I was used to hearing from Crookes when listening to recordings sounded just as good, if not better, live due to the raw emotions coming through in her songs, something most poignant when she sang her popular tracks ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘Since I Left You.’ The benefits of growing up in the multicultural environment of south London is also something detailed by Crookes in many songs, her love for the city she grew up in and its diversity is clear in her melodious tune, ‘London Mine.’ When performing this however, she makes it even more current to the crowd whilst also making her political views very clear, swapping out the line “streets that are tailored to nowhere” in exchange for “Fuck Boris!” which warranted a roar from audience. Crookes appears to be a natural on stage, her enthusiasm was palpable to her audience and almost contagious, as she continually jokes and engages with her crowd making her performance even more entertaining. As she sang one of my personal favourites, ‘Two Nights’ Crookes took a swig of cherry wine after singing the line “chasing up the south with some cherry wine” and laughed with us, once again highlighting the light hearted atmosphere of her performance as well as the intimate crowd she sang to. The concluding song for the set was one of her oldest ones, from her first EP, Influence and although the growth in the production level of Crookes’ music is clear when tracking her two EPs after Influence, her initial themes and the soul in her lyrics are prevalent from the very beginning of her career. She sang the track ‘Power’ which one may assume would be fairly unknown, being released in 2017 when Crookes name was not as prominent how

ever, since everyone in the audience was a long time fan, every word was sung back to her perfectly. Her shock at this did not go unnoticed as she couldn’t keep the beaming smile on her face and she dedicated the song about female empowerment to all the ladies in the audience, resulting in a near-deafening cheer from each and every one of us.

As Joy Crookes’ performance came to a close, she once again thanked everyone who came out to see her and encouraged us to mingle after the show, cheekily winking as she told the single audience members to get chatting. Talking to people after the show made the strength of the singer-songwriter as a performer clear, with everyone praising her and her humble nature, as well as, her natural talent which cannot be overlooked in a setting where all we heard was her voice and a guitar to accompany it. After seeing her live, her title as one of the artists to Watch for 2019 by i-D, who call her music “powerful” and detail how the young “R&B prodigy is already captivating the globe with her unique sound” is undeniably fitting as the experience of a secret show was like no other. Seeing Crookes perform live only made me a bigger fan of her than I already was. Crookes’ sound is one that attracts fans from a variety of genres, as her soulful voice and relatable lyrics add authenticity to her music and make it resonate with audiences for a very long time. Her talent is undeniable and, to me, her growing popularity is greatly deserved.