Helado Negro, This Is The Kit, Becca Stevens, and So Percussion

The son of Ecuadorean immigrants, Roberto Carlos Lange was born in South Florida in 1980. Negro cites the tropical heats and hurricanes mixed sounds of various Latin American cultures of southern Florida as inspiration for his future sound. Pounding bass beats from passing cars, boom boxes bouncing down the block, and late-night parties called “peñas” provided a foundation for Lange’s sound and unquenchable curiosity to try and create music from any object that he deemed feasible. This multi-instrumental nature has translated into an endearing and interesting live show.

An incredibly visual artist, Helado has recently collaborated with prominent visual and sound artist David Ellis to create sound sculptures and visual/sonar instillations all based around ideas posed in his music. Often surrounded by ominous figures dressed head to toe in silver streamers, like glittering abominable snow men, they add to the overall atmosphere of tracks such as 'Are I Here' with it's obvious Latin influences as Helado plucks at a sound board creating varieties of tones.

A real must see artist for anyone with interest in music production or the merger between music and art. The ingenious nature in which Negro sources sounds that make up his rich tapestry of tracks is really intriguing and the song maker's unique tones make the entire show a delight.

When Kate Stables decided to put together a band back in 2003, they named it This Is The Kit, and started to make beautiful alternative folk rock music. What is unique about the band is that sometimes it is a duo, and other times a quintet. It is dependably Kate Stables on vocals, banjo or guitar, and Jesse Vernon on bass, guitar or violin. Other times they are joined by Rozi Plain or the Liftmen (Neil Smith and Philip Sirop).

The Bristol based band plays smaller, more intimate venues, which are ideal for the type of music that they produce. The small venue adds to the homeliness that you get not just from the music, but from their look as well. The particular show that I was able to watch, Stables and Vernon were joined by drummer Jamie Whitby-Coles (who was introduced by the very sweet and soft-spoken Stables). Their live show really is best enjoyed during the wintertime with a hot cup of tea; because you absolutely fall into a place of peacefulness. To top that, the personality types are so timid, yet passionate when they perform. The chemistry that they have with each other, as well as with the audience is indescribable.