Liv.e at Rough Trade

23rd April 2022

The freshest face of Neo-soul, Liv.e, popped in to Rough Trade East on Record Store Day amidst her Laylow residency. Under red lights and the glimmer of the discoball, she's plays her stratified instrumentals as she charms the audience with her voice, fluctuating between various ranges and tones. Exalted under the ambient red lights, it's clear she takes joy in her craft. She creates her own world on the Rough Trade stage, her voice and stage presence hold hands as they capture her essence and expressions. Her experimental sonics are ever changing, she uses the aid of a contraption that can make her voice deep and distorted, or as if she's inhaled a balloon full of helium.

Her voice is a journey from light airy vocals to more solidified belts, Liv.e's art is clearly ever changing. Her music is quite choppy and no two moments of it are ever the same. The ability to navigate such a variation of sounds is impressive. It feels like excerpts from a diary live in the flesh. Lessons From My Mistakes...but I Lost Your Number is a song some of the crowd are familiar with as the bluesy keys fill the room, the crowd begin to cheer. Her voice adapts like a chameleon but rather than blend in, her voice always stands out from the sounds that surround her vocals. She gets the crowd to participate during _21 with some hey ho's. The entire experience feels like a peek inside her brain.

She launches into a new jungle inspired track, she's fully in her zone as she bounces from side to side. She ensnares rising temperatures using the vocoder to create a more staticky sound as she sings. You never know what to expect from the next song she performs, and that's the exciting part. And while each song brings something new, that's exactly what makes her sound cohesive, its enthralling nature brings it all together like a mosaic. She exits by saying "Keep buying those records," and upon the realisation that Rough Trade do in fact stock her debut, excitement occupies her face as she exclaims, "My record is in here!" She bids farewell in true Liv.e style as she thanks us using the vocoder with that high pitched helium effect.

If you'd like to read more on Liv.e, check out a review of her debut on the That Good Shit Instagram page, otherwise you can catch her at Laylow tomorrow evening. You won't want to miss it.