Top Pick: Floating Points
HERE at Outernet, January 23 and 24, ra.co
There aren’t many gigs where you can expect to see an enchanting harp solo followed by thumping techno, but that’s what you’ll be getting if you attend Floating Points this week at HERE at Outernet, Tottenham Court Road’s new-kid-on-the-block music venue. The classically trained musician and electronic producer is returning to the venue for two more nights of electronic stylings, taking his audience on a journey from gentle atmospheric musings to heavy techno beats and Aphex Twin-adjacent discordant sounds, all the way back to atmospheric again. Try and cop some last minute tickets if you want to go along for the ride.
Femi Kuti is the Nigerian musician born from greatness, with his father being the Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, and his grandmother being political campaigner and women’s rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. But Kuti is also great in his own right. The multi-Grammy award-winning musician is a legend in the afrobeat, jazz and funk world and once broke the record for the longest single saxophone note, which he held for 51 minutes and 35 seconds. Madness. Kuti will be doing his thing (and hopefully holding some nice long sax notes) at Koko this Friday.
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Night Tales, January 24, ra.co
English electronic dance group Crazy P were rocked last year by the death of their beloved frontwoman, Danielle ‘Dani’ Moore, in August 2024. In November, the group announced a new album, Any Signs of Love, a tribute to Moore, with the late singer’s vocals taking centre stage. “It’s been 5 years since we released an album. In that time, we did write one we are very proud of,” they announced at the time. For a chance to see Crazy P at their most emotive, catch the eternally reliable DJ group at Night Tales in Hackney Central this Saturday.
Little is known about the mysterious folk duo Milkweed, who utilise voice, guitar and banjo to make their distinctive brand of self-described “slacker-trad” folk. But the growing chatter around them is building to quite a buzz, and their third release, Folklore 1979, was a hit with critics despite it being a rather modest collection of nine songs, clocking in at just over ten minutes. To understand their strange, bewitching sound, check out the project’s opening track, My Father’s Sheep Is Dead. You’ll either get it or you won’t.
Also at KOKO (you go, KOKO!) are this Atlanta-based hiphop duo, who are finally becoming more widely known across the UK after many years in the game. Signed to J Cole-founded label Dreamville Records, Earthgang have earned comparisons to the likes of Outkast, Dungeon Family and The Pharcyde. They rap about everything from the threat of AI to the demise of relationships in quarantine, in case you were sick of constant bars about cash money and fast cars. For their latest LP, Perfect Fantasy, the duo worked with Pharrell, Damon Albarn and Snoop Dogg, to craft something genuinely new. They’ll be at KOKO this Tuesday for you to have a listen.
Oakland-born singer songwriter Kehlani recently scored a triple nomination at this year’s Grammys for their album Crash, which Autostraddle called “an explosion of queer sensuality”. The outspoken performer has made headlines recently with her avid support for Palestine, a theme which has informed many of the music videos and promotion around her album. Having built up a loyal base of superfans, Kehlani will be warmly welcomed to the O2 next Wednesday, where she’ll be caressing the audience with an evening of melodic R&B and pop.