Kae Tempest and Jacob Alon, Edinburgh review: 'a perfect pairing'
Kae Tempest and Jacob Alon both have the ability to make the personal feel universal, writes David Pollock
Kae Tempest and Jacob Alon, Corn Exchange, Edinburgh ★★★★
Support act Jacob Alon dedicated their song Of Amber “to my friend, my hero, Kae Tempest”, who they said “held up a mirror at just the right angle” when they needed to see it. On any level this was a perfect pairing of headline and support, with Alon and Tempest’s very different queer voices aligning in their ability to make the personal universal. That said, Alon’s Edinburgh return was an especially poignant one.
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Named the first Scottish winner of the BBC Introducing Artist of the Year award this week, the Mercury-nominated Fife singer-songwriter was visibly moved by the audience’s response, although that may have also been something to do with professed tiredness after their previous late night at the Captain’s Bar.
“I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the people in that place,” said Alon. “They nurtured me.” Their solo songs for acoustic guitar also included the painful Liquid Gold 25 and the signature Fairy in a Bottle, speaking of love, hesitancy and anguish in a delicate yet powerful voice not dissimilar to the late Jeff Buckley’s.
Tempest’s voice, meanwhile, is familiar to many, but to hear it live remains a singular experience.
Rapping, speaking and singing out front, with beats by lone musician Pops Roberts and a minimal, windswept fabric backdrop with a blunt white line illuminated across it, Tempest began with the surging, house-party-next-door electronic rumble of Holy Elixir and moved through the ever-defiant Move, the soaring house sound of More Pressure and the compassionate state of the nation address People’s Faces.
Tapping expertly into the feelings of disenfranchisement and opportunities for connection available in the contemporary British city, the set’s second half revealed the new album Self Titled in full, including the appeal to future history Statue in the Square, the reggae-infused Bless the Bold Future and the Young Fathers collaboration Breathe, before the long spoken word poem Grace and a crunchy rap version of George Michael’s Freedom featuring Alon brought the night to a euphoric close.
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