GOING LOCAL GIG REVIEW: Edera, Valentina, Munkhouse
GOING LOCAL GIG REVIEW: Edera, Valentina, Munkhouse
On Wednesday night, Peach Promotions in collaboration with Something Something put on the free Going Local showcase at Meow, featuring Wellington artists Edera, Valentina and Munkhouse.
With glasses of the $5 bubbly wine in hand, the crowd congregated in a fruitily decorated Meow. First up was Edera, accompanied by Jake Richter on the drums, Aidan Thomas on the bass, and heart-shaped glasses on her head.
If you’ve heard Edera’s recorded work (and if you haven’t, what is wrong with you?) you’ll notice that her live show with the band presents her music quite differently. The full instrumentation gives her songs a heavier, angstier perspective compared to the more sombre and stripped down versions she has released, which is what makes her so exciting to see live. She begins each song with a mellower tone, her vocals sincere and vulnerable, before taking everyone by surprise with grungy breakdowns and soaring belts.
Her slightly awkward, hilarious chats provided light-hearted moments between each song, making her a joy to watch and interact with. Absolutely Edera-ble.
Second for the night was Valentina, Pōneke synth-pop queen. Delivering shimmery, goosebump-inducing builds and beats that kept my ears mesmerized and my feet moving, she made the stage her own, accompanied only by her no shits given demeanour.
Formerly known as Hybrid Rose, Valentina is Rose Muollo-Gray’s newest endeavour, and it’s clear she’s good at what she does. Landing a spot opening for Elemeno P in February, and collaborating with international electronic producers on her EP, it will be exciting to watch where she goes next.
Her set filled the room with robotic vocals and galactic rhythms, making Meow feel like outer space. ‘Figure You Out’, her recent release, had me having a wee boogie, and she closed her set with an absolute banger of an upcoming release, featuring producer LOZ.
Last on the bill was Munkhouse, the dynamic 6-piece of juicy jazz-rock-soul-”F YEAH” fusion.
One guy in the crowd leaned over to yell in my ear, “He has a cool shirt!” before dancing off in the other direction - and he was right, lead vocalist Ollie Warren was wearing a very cool shirt. Kaito on the sax was channelling Neo from the Matrix with his glasses, and bassist Cedric had on his iconic wizard hat. But not only did they have impeccable fashion, god the music was good. They were effortlessly getting the crowd moving to their oh-so-funky grooves and tastefully composed pauses and breakdowns that make you wanna look at your mate next to you with a stank face on.
Munkhouse’s contagious energy and stage presence provided the perfect buzz to end the night on, or maybe that had something to do with all the cheap wine...
I had a peachy time for sure, the diverse and extremely talented lineup did not disappoint. Big thanks to Going Local and Peach Promotions for collaborating with us to put this event on!