When I saw AlunaGeorge on the bill for Made in America they were catapulted to the top of my “must sees” of the Jay Z procured festival. After causing some waves from their tracks “You Know You Like It” and “Your Drums, Your Love” (see review here), I was excited to witness their incredible talent live for one of their first major U.S. performances.
As I was leaving Solange’s set a bit early to make it over (as I had already seen her previously this year) to catch Aluna’s set in all its glory, I was surprised at how close I could get to the stage. Then I remembered Kendrick Lamar was about to go on the main stage which would explain how I was able to work that out. Aluna, George and the rest of the band promptly made their way on stage, quickly introduced themselves, and dove right in.
Aluna’s voice was crystal clear, balancing her light, supple sound with Reid’s bobbing electronic thumps. Using this as a perfect platform to showcase their newly released debut, they ran through a number of their electro soul filled Body Music. Speaking of, the sensual title track got everyone nodding and swaying along, finally giving us a minor break from the sweltering Philadelphia summer weather.
Turning up the tempo a bit with the glitchy newest single “Attracting Flies,” Aluna got the crowd amped and almost outdid the energy of the smash opener of “Just a Touch,” which was met with arm waving, shouting and beach ball punching anarchy. Aluna joined her partner Reid about three quarters through their set to go back and forth on Reid’s mpc/keyboard combo to display another layer of their artistry.
Since they have yet to hit the mainstream music scene success of many of the other artists featured at the festival, AlunaGeorge went for an instant crowd pleaser by breaking into their rendition of Montell Jordan’s 90’s party jam “This is How We Do It” and featured spot on the Disclosure song “White Noise.” Leaving last but certainly not least, a perfect performance of their breakout single “Your Drums, Your Love.”
Aluna really stretched her vocal chops during the set and impressed me with how comfortable they were onstage for a relatively new group to the U.S. market. Hopefully this great performance and exposure will help in building their growing U.S. fan base. I’m already sold! Check out Body Music available now via Universal Music.
http://youtu.be/PQ-lTbAlP0Y
– Submitted by Tristan Bolden, Music Design