YOUNG FATHERS – CHALK, BRIGHTON 6.2.23
Young Fathers came to Chalk on Monday night as a Resident Records Outstore to promote their fourth album ‘Heavy Heavy’, which was released on 3rd February 2023 via Ninja Tune.
The Scottish trio, Young Fathers were formed in Edinburgh back in 2008, and are Graham ‘G’ Hastings, Alloysious Massaquoi and Kayus Bankole. If you’re wondering, the band is named after the fact that all three members of the band were named for their fathers. Young Fathers’ album ‘DEAD’ won the acclaimed Mercury Prize in 2014. This was followed by ‘White Men Are Black Men Too’ (2015) and ‘Cocoa Sugar’ (2018) the latter winning the Scottish Album of the Year Award.
Young Fathers’ sound mixes soul, pop, rock, hip-hop, noise and lo-fi all underpinned by a heavy bass.
After the Resident Records DJ set was cleared away for Young Fathers, the striking feature was the unconventional drum kit. The bass drum was turned face up and looked more like a kettle drum flanked by floor tom drums and cymbals. On top of the Panther Duo keyboards was a tambourine and xylophone, with guitars to the side. Unmissable was a massive bit of kit, which wouldn’t have been out of place on the Star Trek Enterprise, used for pre-recorded sound effects and backing tracks.
Young Fathers came on stage at 8:34pm accompanied by an additional vocalist, Amber, and two musicians, a drummer and a multi-instrumentalist on guitar, keyboards and percussion.
Young Fathers launched straight into their first track, ‘I Saw’. This had a glam rock feel to it, as if Sweet’s ‘Blockbuster’ had been taken several octaves lower with the siren removed. The next track, ‘Feasting’ was a relatively slower track with some of the vocals resembling chanting.
The highlight throughout the set was the vocal performances of ‘G’ Hastings, Alloysious Massaquoi and Kayus Bankole. Each brings a different singing style and tone, which mix together perfectly. They were joined by Amber on vocal duties, who added yet another layer to the vocal mix. To say that Amber was a backing vocalist would downplay her contribution to Monday night’s performance.
The three core members of the band had different stage presences. Kayus Bankole was the livewire of the three, energetically dancing and moving around the stage, whereas ‘G’ Hastings stood centre stage rarely moving from his spot. Alloysious Massaquoi was somewhere between his two band mates in style, and looked a little more laid back.
The third track ‘Get Up’, as its name suggests, was one of those that got everybody dancing, not just Kayus Bankole. The whole set had an upbeat sound, but this had a particular party feel. Saying that, the following track, ‘Holy Moly’ managed to increase the tempo again.
The pace slowed a little on the following track ‘Rain Or Shine’. Alloysious Massaquoi decided to make a minor rearrangement on the stage layout by taking the spare floor tom drum and cymbal to the front of the stage to play while singing. On ‘Old Rock n Roll’ Kayus Bankole used the megaphone, which had been sitting at the front of the stage, to sing. This track ended with a sound effect of a police siren.
The next three tracks were all from their new album ‘Heavy Heavy’. At the start of this part of the set, ‘G’ Hastings asked the rhetorical question, “Who wants a new song?”. Somebody in the audience shouted out a suggestion. It wasn’t a request show; ‘G’ Hastings, without being disrespectful, simply said “No” and the band launched into ‘Drum’. This was about two thirds of the way through the set, and the first time the band spoke to the audience. Young Fathers prefer to let their music do the talking. (No complaints from me on that score.)
‘Drum’ got livelier through the track, with all four singers breaking into dance. ‘Rice’, also from the new album, had a more of an Afro-Caribbean feel. ‘Geronimo’ was a slower number with a simpler, but effective arrangement, which as with many songs in their performance showcased the vocal harmonies and different singing styles within the band.
Young Fathers closed their set at Chalk with ‘Toy’ from ‘Cocoa Sugar’. This was a very good choice of song to end a very lively and varied performance. For what was on the whole a very fast paced set, this track just got quicker and quicker, matched by the energetic frenzied dance moves of the four vocalists.
Most of the band members left the start at the end of this track, leaving ‘G’ Hastings alone on stage with the big sound effects bit of kit. He simply left the sounds playing, pushed over his mic stand, signalling the end to a very impressive 40 minute live show.
Young Fathers are vocalists:
Alloysious Massaquoi
Kayus Bankole
Graham ‘G’ Hastings
For the live show they were joined by:
Amber – vocals
Stephen – drums
?? – guitars, keyboard and percussion
Young Fathers setlist:
‘I Saw’ (from 2023 album ‘Heavy Heavy’)
‘Feasting’ (from 2015 album ‘White Men Are Black Men Too’)
‘Get Up’ (from 2014 album ‘DEAD’)
‘Holy Moly’ (from 2023 album ‘Heavy Heavy’)
‘Rain Or Shine’ (from 2015 album ‘White Men Are Black Men Too’)
‘Old Rock n Roll’ (from 2015 album ‘White Men Are Black Men Too’)
‘Drum’ (from 2023 album ‘Heavy Heavy’)
‘Rice’ (from 2023 album ‘Heavy Heavy’)
‘Geronimo’ (from 2023 album ‘Heavy Heavy’)
‘Toy Start’ / ‘End’ (from 2018 album ‘Cocoa Sugar’)
