Plumm at Dalston Eastern Curve Garden
Layered electronics led by searing vocals from this rising London-based artist.
Copyright: Tom Bligh / Rascoe Art
Layered electronics led by searing vocals from this rising London-based artist.
Nestled just off the high-street, Dalston Eastern Curve Garden hosts a weekly variety of both emerging and established musical talent. Curated by Woodburner Music each summer, the grassroots series covers a dizzying array of styles and has supported the growth of Blue Lab Beats, Rosie Frater-Taylor, plus many others.
London-based artist Plumm is the latest to grace the stage. She’s kept up a steady stream of singles since debuting in 2018 with The Shed EP, honing a vivid fusion of jazz and trip hop laced with hazy electronics. Meanwhile she’s busily collaborated with fellow artists on the underground circuit—most recently harpist Marysia Osu and production duo Solid Wall—all while fronting the psychedelic jazz collective Levitation Orchestra. Tonight Plumm presents the culmination of her solo work featuring live-looped synths complete with a full band.
A vague, shimmering bed of sound introduces an improvised solo piece to open the set. Plumm freely vocalises over looped echoes of her own voice in a playful call-and-response. As opposed to beginning with a fan-favourite, this direction charts a course of controlled experimentation that runs throughout the set.
You Are The One, from Plumm’s 2018 debut, introduces an air of coiled tension. She sings in a pondering cadence, words tumbling over one another as if we’re privy to an intimate conversation. Flame to Flame is likewise a confessional, confrontational piece: "You've pushed me to my limits”. This kindling pressure rises to a head as the piece ends with a flurry of shattering cymbals and distorted guitars.
Plumm’s influences are laid out in a mashup of two Massive Attack songs, Black Milk and Angel. This confident reimagining of early UK trip-hop carries creative flavours of London’s jazz underground, attesting to the quality of her chosen band-mates. A selection of unreleased tracks appear throughout the night. Master Plan offers a glimpse into new sonic territory as up-tempo, snappy drums beat underneath urgent spoken word passages.
Digital techniques like live looping and ambient effects can risk softening the audience’s connection to live performances. Plumm’s vocal delivery guides these additions however, firmly rooting the music in the raw expression that defines her style. Plumm admits that the setup “has been changing for so long and it's wonderful to know that this is the sound". After years of refinement, tonight's performance is its triumphant realisation.
Words by Ben Browning | Artwork by Tom Bligh