Headrow House, LeedsBacked by a highly capable band, the Sons of Kemet star seems to have gills as he generates astonishing beats, textures and melodies with his instrument
The tuba is an instrument of some magnificence. Warm bellied and low-rumbling, it’s been the bedrock of orchestras for quite some time, but is perhaps not what you might think of as a centre-stage star. As part of lauded
London group Sons of Kemet (and a collaborator with Moses Boyd and Nubya Garcia), Theon Cross is making it his mission to rehabilitate its image. At the overlap between R&B, hip-hop and jazz, his second album Intra-I adopts a cinematic approach to brass beat-making, vibrating with contemporary cool.
On headphones, Intra-I invites main character syndrome: it’s like an imaginary soundtrack for an enthralling inner city crime drama. In a venue as intimate as this, it’s a different kind of arresting; the kind of intense communal experience that makes you wonder how it can happen so casually on an otherwise regular Tuesday night. In a world of samplers and loop pedals, it’s remarkable how little he relies on tape; whether establishing a beat, texture, or buzzing-bee melody, Cross’s pause for breath is so imperceptible that you suspect he must have gills to generate his astonishingly full sound.