Żabel at Nambucca- big-stage energy at an intimate gig
Genre: electropop
Check it out: Even if pop isn't your thing, Żabel is masterful at combining different influences to create something bigger.
On the 17th October, I
had the enormous privilege to attend an intimate gig by Żabel at the Holloway
Road’s Nambucca. Describing her style as ‘wavy pop’, Żabel came to the UK from
Malta before building a career which has taken her to the Shepherds Bush Empire
and made her a regular gigging presence on the London music scene. In
comparison, this night was stripped back - but this made it a perfect
introduction to her eclectic style and theatrical stage presence. I was
instantly hooked. Żabel enchanted me despite the fact I wasn’t familiar with
her material beforehand, which is testament to the gung-ho originality of her
craft.
Żabel’s act is perfectly
thought out, with an intro which serves to give the whole thing a set of poise
and completion. This blended into 9/ten, a massive track which became
hyper-concentrated in the intimate setting. There’s a definite storytelling
element to her songs, and the harsh instrumentation of drums and bass mashed up
with the enormity of her melodies worked in a way you couldn’t have predicted. Next
up was Invisible- gentler but no less powerful, reminding me of an industrial Christine
Chenoweth, grinding electronic backings diving headlong into diva-ish stardom. Żabel is seriously
versatile.
In truth, pop by itself might be a
misnomer, at least live. This is a performer who is consistently able to pull
our surprises.
There’s the brash, magnetic pop star; but then there are the theatrics- with
her stomps, dances, and command of centre stage, this is something riskier
and gutsier than electropop, but melodic enough to avoid being heavy. She flips deftly from
vocal elegance and femininity to devil-may-care, in-your-face raunchiness. There
are the larger-than-life melodies which feel at times like they could belong on
Broadway. And then, to top it all, there is the backing band- a pairing of
dirty, distorted bass and sharp industrial drumming which could be at odds with
the rest of it but isn’t- and that’s it, but there doesn’t need to be anything
more. Too many musicians here would ruin it.
Most of her set was comprised of
original songs, but a well-placed cover of Jessie J’s Do It Like a Dude was a
brave move which Żabel managed to pull off, elevating it from a chart hit to
something more akin to cabaret. She has toned down her former brightly coloured
hair, but she doesn’t need to try to attract attention- her ability to command
the stage is top notch. She ended with I’ll Have You Remember, an earlier
composition which stands up to the rest of her material and which was a perfect
blend of sass and drama. Hard to pin down, I left the venue reminded of an information
age Lisa Minelli. There is a unique mix of intimacy and showmanship in her
craft, and I’m clamouring to see her in a bigger setting. This was an entirely
new artist to me who has instantly stuck in my memory. Żabel has something rare,
and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.
You
can check out her website at https://www.zabelmusic.com/ and follow her on all
social media @zabelmusic
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