On a cold Wednesday evening at the end of a particularly dreary November, the intimate, intricate sounds of alternative musician Chelou arrived in Leeds.

In the intimate venue of Hyde Park Book Club, Chelou breezed between calm moments of acoustic simplicity, and heavier outbursts of guitar and empowered vocals, for a short but sweet 45 minute set. Considering he’s been touring non-stop for the past couple of months, his performance sounds as fresh and full of earnestness as if this was the very first time he’s played these songs to an audience.

“This one goes out to my little sister Felicity, who helped me record the track”, he says, introducing ‘The Quiet’. Chelou’s connection to his music is endearing, and his immersion of himself within it is contagious; and as a collective audience, we too are drawn into a world of compelling guitar, quirky drum sounds, and sincere vocals. We’re carried through an intense instrumental section, before he presents his latest track, ‘Damned Eye See’; the percussion of which is particularly wonderful. “Is everyone having a good time?” – Chelou interjects, naturally answered by a round of appreciative cheers – “Me too”, he replies, with a grin.

Before long, he leads us into one of the most highly-anticipated tracks of the night, ‘Halfway to Nowhere’. Its ethereal, seductive aura truly has everyone watching absolutely captivated: we are transported to a dream-world, moments before the end of the set. Chelou appropriately leaves us on ‘Like a Dream’ to conclude a breath-taking performance: a truly special evening.

Hollie Griss

 

Photo credit: When The Horn Blows