Here at CelebMix, we absolutely love discovering new artists for us to fall in love with so what better way to spend a cold Thursday night than heading to 229 The Venue in London for Discovery 2’s showcase!
Featuring the likes of Melissa Bel, Hvmns and Elle Exxe this varied lineup turned into a fantastic night of captivating live music and here’s just what went down on the night.
Opening the show was Toronto-based Melissa Bel this singer-songwriter instantly caught our attention as she appeared onstage bearing the biggest smile and accompanied by just her guitar. Her soulful tone echoed around the room with such elegance during tracks including Dirty Word and Stay Gone. Rather than joining the collection of artists accompanied by a guitar who just well bore you to tears with their clichéd lyrics and lack lustring sets, Melissa did the exact opposite as we found ourselves dancing along and falling in love with her humble personality. A special mention needs to go to her mesmerizing cover of Hozier Take Me To Church, stripping it back to the bare bones each note sent a shiver down the spine highlighting the beautiful tones this soloist is specialised in. We couldn’t help but smile when she admitted ‘I’m just a Canadian in London loving every moment’, it’s fair to say all the Brits in the room were completely loving every moment too.
Taking the night in a different musical direction was indie pop duo Hvmns, for some reason the crowd at this point seemed to lose their spark but this didn’t stop us becoming hooked on their moody, electro sound. Vocalist Moa Drugge casts a spell over the audience with her near spoken words performed with such belief and emotive power during Humanity. Set highlight came with debut single Dirt + Grime, the track has become the one for which the band are known for. It’s bold, enchanting and refreshing to hear thought provoking lyrics showing that this duo has definitely upped the indie pop game!
Next up came the act the whole venue had been waiting for and the lady who could definitely be headlining her own tour run already… Elle Exxe. Bouncing onto the stage and slamming straight into The Hammer she wasn’t going to be forgotten. The crowd were jumping, the party was started and the night properly kicked off as her voluminous blonde curls slammed from side to side on stage. We had complete hair envy, we’re just going to admit that now.
Tonight is a special one for Elle, marking a year since she played the same venue and giving a reflection on the achievements she’s made across the year like come on playing KoKo, Camden is a huge achievement! Due to this much of tonight’s audience are already firm fans singing and dancing along as carefree as the lady herself, Elle oozes in sass and we couldn’t love her for it anymore.
The set maintained momentum from the start to the end as Lost In L.A stands out for a set highlight singing of a wild night which got a little bit too out of hand “I got lost, spent all my money” a feeling we know all too well but not so much in LA sadly! There’s such a great party atmosphere throughout that Elle succeeds in putting the whole room in the best mood despite the winter weather outside. Track White Lies received its debut play on the night which really showed this captivating songstress isn’t here to mess around, her soaring vocals and varied track tempos made you do nothing but watch her phenomenal set (with the addition of a lot of dancing duh!).
We absolutely love that whilst going a little crazy onstage, Elle doesn’t let her vocals suffer one bit as shown with beautiful track Home With You. It’s a talent to make each member of the crowd feel as if you’re speaking to each of them when you perform, it’s sincere, serenading and simply stunning. As the set draws to a close the room is filled with a chant of “Elle, Elle, Elle” seeing her return to the stage to go out on one final bang with Dirty Beat. There’s star potential and then there’s Elle Exxe with her performance already down to a fine art (we mean there’s even a dress code for her band), stage presence in the bucket loads and a personality you can’t help but fall in love with this is a star very much already made.
Watch this space as we wouldn’t be surprised if Elle, having already played a set as part of Brits Week not so long ago is everywhere in 2016. The pop world needs a new queen and we’d like to nominate Elle Exxe for the position.