Gaika Headlines a Night of Exciting Talent at London’s ICA [Show Review]

London-born singer, songwriter and rapper Gaika takes to one of the city’s most exciting stages to perform for the first time in a year. Approaching ten years in the game, Gaika continues to navigate unconventional soundscapes and revolutionize numerous genres unapologetically. In the span of 4 studio albums and several mixtapes and EPs, Gaika has frolicked through the worlds of industrial, dancehall, grime, R&B and many, many more.

My first exchange with this artist was on the track “Left Eye” by Babyfather. This song consists of indistinct and muffled vocals delivered by Gaika and a Project Pat-esque beat, which Pink Siifu later reclaimed for the track “Roscoe’!.” Anybody who knows me knows this is a golden combo in my eyes.

Moving onto the show. Regrettably, I was only able to catch the last five minutes of Anja Ngozi’s set. Anja is a South East London-based, multifaceted creative who operates within Lofi, experimental and leftfield music. From what I gathered she created a very tranquil and soothing atmosphere as the majority of the crowd were either sitting or lying on the floor. I think it’s safe to say she carried out her job successfully.

The second artist who took to stage, or more accurately the floor, was The Narrator with help from her label-mate Isaiah Hull. These two artists are part of the Life is Beautiful Collective pioneered by producer Aloisius which formed a little over a year ago now. The collective is easily the most exciting creative project coming out of London in my opinion. All right members bring unique and refreshing takes on music, performance and creative direction with no limitations. The collective hosts frequent experiences/events, none of which are like the last.

The performance was composed of Isaiah clumsily navigating his way through the seated crowd, gripping a can of lager and slurring his words. This quickly escalated into what could only be described as a slapstick chase between the two in and out of crowd members. These two can execute captivating performance art without compromising the quality of the music.

Next up was Gaika, visibly excited to be back on stage, he wasted no time and got stuck into his latest album Drift. The album was released last year and includes features from The Narrator, Kidä, Azekel and BbyMutha. It’s no surprise that this album traverses through a multitude of genres, however, hip-hop, post-punk and alt-rock are the most prominent.

Gaika was joined on stage by The Narrator who provided additional vocals, an electric guitar-wielding Max Winter and Haruna Jebak on drums. This event was powered by d&b audiotechnik who provided the 360-degree sound system. This technology allows the artist to have more control over the audience’s audible and spatial experience creating a much more intimate and unique ordeal.

Without taking any credit away from Gaika himself, the live band was essential for bringing this album to life. The track “lady” particularly stood out to me with that whirring guitar throughout and an excellent verse by BbyMutha.

The ICA describes themselves as “A playground and a home for today’s most vital artists”. Nights like these are what makes the venue so special to me and many others.