Live Review: Decave #7 - Oscar Jerome x S. Fidelity Collaboration @ Birthdays, London (11/05/2018)

If you haven't heard of Decave and the brilliant collaboration night the small but passionate London-based promoters put on once a month, then please allow us to enlighten you. The premise is simple - they get two great musicians who have never met before, make them spend five hours in the studio collaborating and then, on the night, they perform their creations live at a venue somewhere in London. Past collaborators have included artists like Goat Girl, ISLAND, Blaenavon and Line Fire and for their 7th outing, singer-songwriter Oscar Jerome and electronic beat maker, S. Fidelity.

It's fair to say, as soon as the performance started, we and the relatively large audience were hooked. Jerome's incredible guitar playing coupled with the hard, but sparse beats of S. Fidelity instantly worked a treat. They opened with two tracks which were both created that day. Much to our amazement they were both fully formed songs with clear structures, lyrics and brilliant instrumentation. We have to confess, we arrived at Decave with a slight trepidation. It could have been far too easy for S. Fidelity to play a drum loop whilst Jerome shredded across the top for a good half an hour but luckily, this wasn't the case. These songs showcased each artist's superb talent with a high air of professionalism. Jerome's soulful vocals and guitars, combined with the electronic beats and brilliant use of S. Fidelity's vocoder amounted to a captivating performance.

One of the best things to take away from the night was how much fun both artists looked to be having on stage. It looked as if they had been friends for years, but in fact, they had never met before the day. They then performed a John Martyn cover which silenced the crowd before each artist broke into a solo rendition from their respective back catalogues. The setlist itself was concise and you could really tell each artist had put in maximum effort and thought into the whole process.

We were genuinely blown away by how good the performance was. Decave have got a brilliant concept here and it won't be long before the crowds get bigger and bigger. Also, it's clear Oscar and S. Fidelity should record a split EP. The chemistry the lads showed was electric and we'd definitely go see them perform together again.

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