CRS on stage at Nottingham Contemporary - Photo via Nottingham Contemporary's Facebook
Circuit: Affinity was a creative event produced by the young people of Collabor-8 Collective, taking over Nottingham Contemporary for two days. The free festival consisted of art, music, film, food, and workshops; overall, the festival seemed like a great success. The purpose was to encourage young people to display the opportunities surrounding the arts and creative sector of the industry, and getting more people to join.
The workshop sessions were great as you had the opportunity to either create collages, jewellery, or add to sculptures around the building. I particularly thought the workshops were a thoughtful addition as it allowed the public to get involved and participate in a creative manner in a calm environment in the studio, away from the excitement of the performances downstairs in the space and café bar.
The performances ranged from acoustic to grime, to indie, and everything in between, thus catering for everyone. The first performance I saw was a soothing acoustic session with soulful vocals from Parisa Eliyon. Following on to Nottingham Creative Award Winner 2015, Jamal Sterrett who dazzled the crowd with his spotlight dance performance to J. Cole’s 03’ Adolescence, a powerful performance that intrigued the audience leaving them wanting more.
The Community Recording Studio (CRS) Showcase built to a climax to get the audience excited for MOBO Nominee, Lady Leshurr. The grime performances had the crowd going wild, from moshpits, dance circles, and jumping around to the instrumental. The standout artists from the showcase would have to be Mez, Snowy, T1, Young T, and Bugsey. Mez has a phenomenal stage presence, accompanied with his ‘Crew 1, 2’ chant that brings excitement for the main event. Lady Leshurr performed three songs; her final track Queen’s Speech 4 bought high-energy, the crowd were dancing and rapping in a similar manner to Leshurr; towards the end of the song, she had the crowd diving to catch a toothbrush.
Spritzer Dance at Nottingham Contemporary - Photo via Nottingham Contemporary's Facebook
In comparison to Friday, Saturday performances were much more band and acoustic based. The singers had unique, memorable vocals with interesting subject matters that engaged with the audience. Daudi Matsiko performed a chilled yet heartfelt acoustic set, talented emerging act with interesting banter to follow. Sandwich had to be my favourite song. Afterdark Movement got the crowd swaying to the instrumentals while Bru-C rapped away, producing a reggae feel to the song, great performance especially with the element of the saxophone.
It wasn’t just about the music, the cinema room featured various creative films such as Looking Through The Façade (short film), Psycho and even a music documentary. To conclude the event was filled with cultured festivities for all ages to enjoy, whether you were a music lover, movie fanatic or simply wanted some free food, there would be something for you. If that wasn’t enough, you could happily wander round the gallery exhibitions and perhaps experience an alien encounter.
Circuit: Affinity - A Collabor-8 Festival took place at Nottingham Contemporary on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November 2015.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
