Thursday night saw the unleashing of the second Vega’s New Crush event presented by Vega and Beatbox Entertainment. The purpose of the event was to introduce six new-ish international artists and bands to the Danish music scene in order to give the Danes an idea of the talent emerging outside the country’s borders. Just like the first event of its kind this year’s New Crush had a pretty diverse lineup stretching from loud hip-hop to bopping indie pop to Icelandic, mellow folk music, which attracted a mixed audience from both ends of the musical spectrum. The event took place in Copenhagen’s beloved Lille Vega, a lovely, little 500 capacity venue with dimmed lightening and the tiniest balcony you’ve ever seen.
First up on the bill was Minnesota experimental rapper Astronautalis. “My name is Astronautalis and I’m gonna be screaming at you for the next 25-30 minutes” he opened, and easy to say he did live up to his promise. Despite the small audience turnout Astronautalis’s energy remained high throughout his stellar set as he bounced around the tiny stage half singing, half shouting his, mostly, angry rap texts. His self-proclaimed genre of “rap plus everything else” sat well with the small crowd and he was quick to have people jumping and shouting along. He didn’t detach himself from the crowd; he was in there with you, jumping off the stage to perform amongst people on the floor during his last song, which gave him everyone’s full attention and left them begging for more after his departure.
Next up was synthdriven, indie-electro rock trio All Tvvins from Dublin. From the opening notes of ‘Thank You’ to the final applause, guitarist Lar Kaye played the part of snake-charmer. He never stopped moving, putting his entire body into every chord and synth line with seemingly boundless energy whilst Conor Adams belted out the vocals and basslines from a more stationary position stage left. The intense guitar and bass riffs combined with the constant rhythmic drumbeat created a massive sound that filled out the tiny venue perfectly. Really, the only negative thing about All Tvvins’s set was the length of it, as they whipped up quite a storm and then left before you had time to properly enjoy the magic that was happening.
South African singer/songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou was next and turned the energy level down a notch. It’s rare that one person and her guitar manage to captivate an audience as much as Alice did. If she wasn’t speaking or singing, it was so quiet you’d be able to hear a needle drop; it was incredible. Everyone was so transfixed on this pixie like woman and her massive vocals that could fill a cathedral. It was obvious that Alice puts a lot of thought and emotions into her songs, and that places she’s been or people she’s met have shaped her songs. For example, she brought on stage with her a trumpet player she’d literally met five hours previously because they discovered the trumpet complimented her guitar sound and voice perfectly. Whilst singing Alice transported the crowd into a dream like state, where chatting to one another over the music – something quite common in Denmark – seemed way too intrusive, but it was simply impossible not to stop and acknowledge her raw, pure talent and being. And at the end of each song, the ending seemed to appear rather abruptly simply because, caught in the moment, you didn’t expect it to be over so soon.
The evening’s ultimate highlight was Brighton quintet Fickle Friends who brought with them their bright, summery indie pop vibes. Frontwoman Natassja Shiner dominated the stage while appearing effortlessly cool. She furthered the laid back atmosphere of the evening, contributing fun, but sometimes awkward tidbits in-between songs, talking about weird dancing and the 18 hour drive they’d had to endure in order to get to Copenhagen. The tropical indie-pop was rhythmically addictive, and got the crowd bopping along immediately and whenever the music was in full flow the pounding rhythms, washy synths and staccato guitar lines took control of the room and provided a great foundation for Natassja’s vocals to flourish and prompt a wild reaction from the crowd. Halfway through, the show was brought to an emotional rendition of ‘Paris’ before moving forward and building to an enjoyable crescendo. The set ended a little abruptly but the crowd had been well won over by then, with far more movement in the audience than for previous acts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw47sPO04CU
Icelandic Axel Flóvent and his band followed suit playing some nice, subtle ethereal indie folk music. Very mellow compositions, accompanied beautifully by a talented band that added many layers to the frontman’s folky guitar and gentle voice. Axel’s music was endearing and had real warmth to it too; its delicate guitar riffs and gentle piano surfaces blended together perfectly and created a lovely, almost relaxing atmosphere. The tracks are based around fairly simple acoustic ideas, and they’re a perfect escape from the stress and strains of a manic and slightly confused world. About halfway through their set, Axel announced it was the guitarist’s 23rd birthday, which caused the crowd to break into a Danish rendition of the birthday song to the band’s amusement.
Last on Vega’s bill was Swedish singer/songwriter Albin Lee Meldau and his band. Albin’s got a heavy soul-like voice that balances out his acoustic guitar sound and the rest of the instruments perfectly. It was 11.30pm when they took the stage, but that didn’t stop them from delivering a high-energy and somewhat emotional set consisting both slow songs as well as a few more upbeat ones. Albin really captivated the crowd; he delivered the kind of set where you, as an audience, are able to just lie back and feel the warmth of the music embrace you while all your troubles slowly float away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fk3MVA4dWc
Albin and his band were the perfect ending to a well rounded night in the name of international music. Kudos to Vega and Beatbox Entertainment for New Crush: exactly the kind of event Denmark needed.
Words by Caroline Oestergaard