“Are you okay? Are you alright? Are you having a good time?”
It was on the 9th of November that Clemens Rehbein, lead vocalist of the indie-folk group Milky Chance, asked these at once sincere and imposing words. The trio, consisting of Rehbein, guitarist Antonio Greger and producer Philipp Dausch, from Kassel (Germany), travelled to the University of Leeds to captivate their British following.
And captivate they did. At 8pm on the dot, their support act, the half-Italian Fil Bo Riva, struck the audience with his distinctly rough vocals, and delighted us for the next thirty minutes. His powerful and melancholic folk was the perfect opening to the German group that would bring the room fully to life an hour later with ‘Clouds’.
The three group members did a great job at reminding us of the reason for their success. It is the genius and originality in Dausch’s mix of electronica and folk, the singularity of Rehbein’s voice, the utter rightness of Greger’s guitar and his phenomenal harmonica solos. It is the ability they possess to make anyone dance.
Their unity demanded our undivided attention; their music did things to our hearts. The third song they played, ‘Blossom’, the title track of their sophomore album released earlier this year, saw the room go wild and had us singing along to every lyric. This was the case no matter whether the songs were from their first album or their second; we sang, danced and clapped.
By the end, everyone was in awe and having a great time. But when they left the stage, it was clear we hadn’t had enough of them, and that they weren’t done with us. The classic chant of “one more song” rocked the walls of Stylus, until the trio re-emerged to undo their fans one more time with masterful performances of “Stolen Dance” and “Sweet Sun”.
So, to answer your question, Clemens: We are okay. We are alright. And we’ve never danced like this before.
Sofia Ambrosio
Feature Image: Jade Park