Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life Hit Sweet Spot At Ronnie's

Given the album’s title comes from the latin for ‘nothing new’, audiences could be forgiven for expecting a more routine evening, but Strickland sees the phrase as a distillation of the idea that everything is inspired by something else, and it was his rich diversity of influences on display tonight.

Neo-soul and R&B vibes were apparent from the off, with drummer Charles Haynes a powerhouse of invention and backbeat. A cover of J Dilla’s ‘Lightworks’ shook the foundations of Frith Street, as Haynes squeezed in fills in a host of different metres before returning to beat one as if nothing had happened. Very much from the Chris Dave school of drumming, Haynes’s captured the glitches of hip hop loops and never rested in the same feel for long, making his more simple beats all the more satisfying.

Hip hop was certainly a unifying theme, but Twi-Life explored much more besides. ‘Sissoko’s Voyage’ sampled Malian n'goni player Bazoumana Sissoko and ‘Mirrors’ paid tribute to the great Fela Kuti. Mitch Henry was kept busy on three keyboards and Hammond organ – one minute grooving with all the frenetic energy of Afrobeat, the next building complex synth textures. All the while, bassist Kyle Miles was an island of calm centre-stage – barely moving as he delivered sub-bass notes which glued the quartet together.

Strickland’s powerful, natural sound gave the central melody of ‘Tic Toc’ gravitas and spirituality, and elsewhere his tone was doused in effects redolent of the Robert Glasper Experiment’s Casey Benjamin. Throughout the night, Strickland’s philosophy shone through just as clearly as his musicianship – at one point he triggered a sample of the author James Baldwin discussing the artistic struggle for integrity as a metaphor for the wider human condition. It was in bringing together these different black oral histories – from Baldwin to Dilla, from Bazoumana Sissoko to Fela Kuti – that Strickland found the sweet spot.  

– Jon Carvell

– Photos by Carl Hyde