Review: Ngaio, St. George’s

It’s not often you get back from a gig with too many notes to cram into your review, who’d have thought such a thing would come out of a stripped back guitar and vocals set up? What I’m not surprised about though is that Ngaio was the person to make this happen on Saturday afternoon at St. George’s Listening Room – a series of events held by St. George which features local artists performing and talking about their art.

Her performances have always been an encouraging kick up the bum for me, from her unhindered, authentic lyricism to her powerful, simply succulent vocals, she’s the kind of performer that makes you want to DO STUFF NOW. Not to mention her affectionately comical commentary between songs that makes you feel like one of the gang.

In such an intimate setting and with daylight spilling in, Ngaio said “I can see your faces so if you’re not really liking it I think just leave rather than stare at me with sadness.” Needless to say, everyone was glued to her after her first note. Expressing deep natured stuff, her banter between songs came as a welcome buffer throughout her set to keep me upright but is clearly also a self-care tool she’s developed for her own peace of mind too.

Having seen Ngaio perform with her full band back in November for her We Fly EP launch, snapping up the opportunity to truly get to grips with her songwriting in a duo set up was no mistake! Accompanied by Tom Hackwell’s sympathetic guitar strumming, Ngiao embraced the space and allowed her vocals to spill through the room. Power, tentative and at times cat like, you can see her mind ticking away through each carefully measured and constructed note.  Beginning her set with ‘Push’, a song I’m convinced she wrote whilst looking into my soul, she explores the need to put up guards when delving into romance – who wants to feel vulnerable though right?

Ngaio popped a couple throat sweets throughout her set in an effort to keep the effects of jetlag at bay, her recent trip to Nigeria was a big talking point of the session. She went to cover Lagos Theatre Festival for the British Council but more importantly the trip allowed her to connect more with her identity, culture and father’s tribe, Igbo Delta. What struck me from her stories was how quickly she made new connections, because as soon as she said where she was from (it passes through your dad’s side in Nigeria much to her feminist’s dismay) people would say, “I am Igbo Delta too! So you are my sister, we are family!”.

I imagined a space closer to home where this could become our ethos and how much comfort we could find in strangers rather than difference. Ngaio entertained the idea of leaving her brain in Nigeria as she referred to her notebook for back up, but she seemed to have come back with a whole lot more than what she left with. Including a suitcase crammed full of vibrant clothes and fabrics which of course she wore some of on Saturday.

From where I’m standing, the future for Ngaio looks empowered and experimentative, coming from a place of more understanding. She’ll be honing her production skills and bringing in influences of Nigerian music into her next EP, “In the most authentic way possible.” In the meantime though, you can catch her on April 3 at Attic Bar for her We Fly: Remixes Launch Party.

Main photo by Charley Williams

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