Last night (25/06/12) Camden Town was buzzing with it's usual current of creativity and freedom but yesterday a bit of that buzz was created by south London singer Josh Osho. It was his first headline show at this renowned live music venue and was to celebrate the release of his debut album L.I.F.E (Learning Is For Ever), which came out that day. The album is a blend of folk, blues and soul. He combines these musical styles with telling lyrics that document the experiences his life growing up.
Inside The Jazz Cafe events were kicked off by BBC 1Xtra DJ, CJ Beatz, who hosted the show and treated the crowd to some new and classic urban floor fillers. This was very well received and some members of the audience even took to the stage to demonstrate their dancing skills. With that, the tone was set and the message was clear: prepare to party!
Rax Official was the first support act of the night and he continued what Beatz had started with his own brand of London Hip Hop which was a delicate fusion of lazy London rap vocals over a US dirty south sounding rhythm. The second act Marcus Bonfanti brought us some straight up London blues and some serious guitar skill too! These two very different acts represented Osho's broad musical tastes and his efforts to unite elements of the two sounds within his own music.
Shortly after this, Osho took to the stage like a rocket! He was clearly full of energy and rearing to go. Guitar in hand he worked through each song with conviction, purpose and poise. He started with 'Ebenezer Hotel', a jaunty blues song in which he describes his experiences living at a hostel after leaving home aged 16. He followed with 'Footprints' which maintained the high energy level with it's feel good pop-African beat. He was full of boyish charm and enthusiasm whenever he addressed the crowd. Whether it was to stir up the atmospshere or to give thanks, Osho displayed natural charisma and grace.
He took the tone down a few notches with 'Wishing Well' and 'Highlight of My Day'. And then there was S.O.S: For a moment, all the crazy energy in the room was focused as if funnelled down into this one quiet moment. The audience were gripped, almost entranced by the hypnotic guitar melody of this beautiful ballad and for this time they were still, calm and contemplative. His performance of this song was truly a brilliant moment.
But after that, it was back to the business of celebrating. Osho rounded off his show with the two singles from the album 'Redemption Days' and 'Giants'. The audience responded by singing along in full voice! Osho exited the stage to raucous applause then returned to perform his version of Kanye West's 'Jesus Walks' for his encore song.
At heart Osho is a storyteller, who makes the kind of music you want to hear live and last night he made it clear that we were there to celebrate and enjoy life in all it's glory and even in it's torment. This was a man on a mission and he put on a great show making sure no one present that night will forget that learning is for ever: L.I.F.E
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