Music Monday: Kele (With Brolin) at Oval Space, London.

If there is one act that you could see again and again and never be bored of them, that one act would be Kele Okereke.


Kele is definitely not new to the scene, but every time he comes on tour he brings something completely different to the table - and with his latest, there was no live music, only a DJ accompanying him while he does what he does best - dance around on the stage while singing his heart out.

He opens with Heartbreaker, a track from his dance inspired EP Candy Flip, a bit of an unusual decision but still got the people dancing nonetheless. But it is when the hits come out when the crowd really get going, songs like Everything You Wanted and On The Lam, that you really see Kele's impressive back catalogue as a solo artist.

And as we mentioned before, Kele did not have his usual set up behind him. This time it was a lone DJ, and an amazing video show similar to what you would see at a back street rave. This was the first time we had seen him without a live band behind him, but it felt oddly familiar. While we did love Kele's live experience (and the lovely Lucy Taylor aka Pawws bouncing around behind him on keyboard) the DJ set up allowed Kele to really push songs to their full potential. But the thing that really surprised the audience the most is the reworking of some of the tracks, changed to keep with the "dance" theme, which could have been risky, but really was worth well (and we hope to get studio versions of them Kele!)

For the encore Kele busts out two songs from his latest album, My Hotel Room and First Impressions, bringing on the incredible up and comer Yasmin to the stage. Ending with brand new songs could be a bit of a risk, but not with Kele and Yasmin, they work the crowd to a frenzy on stage that people did not want to leave.

Okereke is easily one of the UK's most underrated artists, he knows how to entertain the masses, and we really hope he does not go away from us again. He seems much more at ease with his progression as an artist, and the audience really enjoyed it too.

*****

SUPPORT ACT: Brolin
Brolin is a bit of a mysterious fella, and we're not just referring to the fact that he wears a mask. You can see why he is a support act of Kele's, very danceable music that is very hard to pigeonhole into any category. While the crowd were only responding with a head bop here and there with the first song, by the end Brolin had everyone on their feet swaying...and most couples in the crowd snogging. He will definitely be one to watch in 2015.