aaamusic | On 15, Sep 2010

London, 1st September

The small and unique venue of 12 Bar Club created an intimate ambiance perfect for the chilling vocals of Charlene Soraia. The crowd was made up of no more than about a dozen people who sat on chairs in front of the small stage in complete silence, in awe of Soraia’s impressive talents.

Within the tiny and silent venue, with the small audience sat within touching distance of the stage, mistakes could not possibly go unnoticed and poor vocals could not be disguised behind the instrumentals. Yet within this environment Soraia’s musical adroitness became clear, her chilling and emotive vocals engulfed the venue and she established herself immediately as a diverse artist, capable of more than what we have come to expect from the ‘typical’ female solo artist.  Soraia takes an avant-garde approach to her music and seems willing to take risks and push boundaries, which is refreshing to see.

The beauty and imagination of her songs kept the audience captivated throughout her relatively short set, however, although it seems a shame that so few people were there to witness this, I am not sure that Soraia would be able to maintain the same musical connection with a larger audience. Although I found many of her songs to be beautiful, I also found them forgettable. Her music is reminiscent of a dream in that although you may remember that it was nice, the next morning you cannot recall what actually happened.

Charlene Soraia is definitely worth going to see perform live, if for no other reason than for her overt musical talents and ambition. However, I found that at times her attempts to experiment with her music didn’t capture me. Soraia is at her best in an intimate venue with a small crowd, and from watching the reaction of the people around me I feel that she is an artist whose talents people appreciate, but not necessarily one whose lyrics and melodies have the capacity to infiltrate their way into your daily life.

Charlene Soraia’s debut album ‘Moonchild’ is due for release in October.

Author: Alice Cuddy