WHAT WENT DOWN: Kamal’s Headline Show [@Kamalnw]

Photography by Kat Friar

Off the bat of his latest mixtape, Kamal.’s headline show truly embodied his talent and definitely fulfilled his fans. On every track you could hear his fans singing along like a choir, and rightfully so. With catchy lyrics and ambient production, his fans’ infatuation with his music was always going to be guaranteed.

Here are our favourite moments from his show:

dexter in the newsagents’ support slot

In dexter in the newsagent’s opening set, her awkwardness is part of her charm. Her gentle voice and relatable lyricism across a variety of instrumentals and acoustics from her guitarist, Dom has the crowd swaying and singing along.

The beat switch on ‘free flow’

The well-written ‘free flow’ felt soft as Kamal. performed it to an adoring crowd who knew every word. When the liquid drum and bass beat switch flooded through the venue, blue lights began to flash to the beat, emphasising the rhythm.

His sultry tones for ‘sex on you’

Kamal.’s vocals feel like bedroom eyes when he performs ‘sex on you’. Something just shifts, his voice sounds much more sultry on this particular track than any other and the crowd love it as they sing along to the uptempo chorus.

Opening up about depersonalisation on ‘crowded places’

Kamal. sits down on a white chair and mentions how he suffers from dissociation, how it makes him feel “disconnected from reality” and it often occurs in crowded places as the song suggests. A single spotlight shines down on him as he sings full of vulnerability and raw emotion.

When he sits down at the piano

As soft cymbals welcome him in, he begins playing the sombre piano while a white light shines onto him and a wave of calm takes over the crowd. He asks the crowd to put their flashlights up as the venue begins to look like a night sky with the brightest of stars for ‘angel!’ – he returned to the piano for a few other tracks.

Bringing Dave out for ‘Our 25th Birthday’

Kamal. returns to his piano, mentioning how the song he’s about to perform is a new one that he’s never performed before. His lush tone graces the venue before the crowd begins to cheer as Dave emerges with his Bape hood up, incredibly discreetly. After laying down his bars he speaks about the collaboration, how Kamal. had sent the piano on the track long ago and that he’d always known it was meant for something special – the hook had been sent 4 weeks prior to the show and thus became the collaboration between the two and Central Cee.

Overall, Kamal’s on-stage effort left his fans’ hearts full. He was even meeting them by the merch stand after the show. The venue felt warm and cosy as lights danced over the crowd and his gentle voice projected through the venue.