By Sharon Willdin
On the corner of Knox Street and Shepherd Street, Chippendale, is an intimate eclectic cavern that is comprised of a series of clandestine chambers lit in purple and blue and a bar that serves good red wine.
It was the evening following the US election that I found myself at the Knox Street Bar sitting in front of six talented musical acts from Ultimo TAFE who performed a mixture of original songs and covers to a live audience of about 40. The showcase put on by music teacher David Gugliotta featured Grae, Leo Abisaab, Kat Wyld, Calliobel, Toah and Trepan.
All the acts were uniquely diverse in their style. They crossed genres from indie rock to grunge, neo soul, hip-hop and dream pop — and they even made up a few new genres of their own.
To say that I was shell-shocked by the results of the US election would be an understatement, but these exceptional musicians transported me from catatonic numbness into the power of the present moment.
The opening act was indie artist Grae who executed her songs with grit and originality. The diminutive singer stood alone, front and centre, on stage and knocked out her songs draped in an electric guitar nearly as big as she herself.
Grae was followed by Leo Abisaab who was accompanied by keyboard artist Sebastian Kruisheer (Skruish). As soon as he began to sing the audience turned to each other and went “WTF!”
Leo placed in the top 24 on The Voice Australia in 2018 when he was just 14 years old, at the time the youngest contestant ever. Classy and passionate, his style could be described as a neo soul with a powerful mix of cross-cultural earthy guttural tones. He sang covers and his own original work including Eternal Sea and Crashing Planets.
Kat Wyld’s music is smooth and surreal with relatable catchy lyrics and elements of quirkiness. They performed original material including Didn’t Change, Good Love, and Light From The Microwave.
The artist plays with the juxtaposition of sadness and humour. Light From The Microwave is a clever song about the breakup of a relationship that the artist knows is imminent after the microwave finishes its three-minute cycle. It has just been released on Spotify.
Calliobel, is an indie artist whose music could be described as evocative and sensual with a touch of grunge. She is a force so keep your ears open for her songs Lust and Rot on Soundcloud.
When Toah came on stage the audience was immediately engaged. The inspirational hip-hop artist conveys stories with authenticity fuelled by a desire to connect to others who are doing it tough.
Toah has only been studying music since the beginning of the year and yet performed a set of original material including All A Dream, Sick Reality and 21. The latter was just released on Spotify to mark the artist’s 21st birthday.
The set finished with signature song T.O.A.H. which is an absolute cracker. After hearing it you will never forget the artist’s name.
The last act of the night was Trepan, a charismatic combination of Xavier on vocals/guitar and Moe on lead guitar. The band, which has a quality that reminds me of Silverchair when Frogstomp was first released, is heavily influenced by grunge and Kurt Cobain. Xavier, the songwriter, is only 16 years old.
Trepan performed original works including All for Nothing and Heat Death Of The Universe and they finished the night with a cover of the Violent Femmes classic Blister In The Sun, which caused the audience to jolt out of their seats on to the dance floor.
All in all, the best $10 ever spent.
You can hear original work from Leo Abisaab, Kat Wyld, Toah and Trepan on TAFE Radio in a series of interviews between myself, Lee Reilly and Caleb Willdin Cole. One artist will be featured each day over summer.
Check them out on their own individual Instagram pages and watch this space for more information on how to access the full interviews with them on Spotify.
Featured image: Trepan at the Knox Street Bar. Photo: David Gugliotta
