Live: Prisma Living Room Session

Jordan-Bethany. Photo: Prisma HQ

James and James, otherwise known as ‘The Prisma boys’ have been busy arranging yet another living room gig; this being the fifth they’ve staged in their new flat that also acts as Prisma HQ. Not only do these gigs help to promote their own clothing brand Prisma, but they’re also helping to promote new up and coming acts.

Intimate is the most prominent word to describe the night event as a whole, with bean bags, cushions on the floor, a home-made bar with all the tasty alcoholic beverages you could need to help you chill out and plus a few cookies dotted around. Even the traffic, horns and sirens heard from the street outside added to the ambience of a truly authentic, urban and British living room gig. One of the James’s (Kellet) even gave us a couple of tracks with his guitar to warm up the room and a cheeky little magic trick with a deck of cards.

First of the musicians to grace the fairy-lit stage was Benedict Trenches with his relaxed and happy vibe. The room instantly fell silent as he began to sing his first cover of the evening/ If he hadn’t told the room each song was a cover, I’d put money on everyone assuming they were his own, putting a personal spin on these acoustic versions. The talented musician even broke his guitar strap and like a true professional, with a little help from a James (Thomas), carried on to finish the song. He then opted for taking a pew for the rest of the set, however amazingly none of the energy was lost.

Suspect Alibi. Photo: Prisma HQ

Jordan-Bethany was the next to grace the warmed-up seat with her guitar and soft set of her own songs. Her voice, which can only be described as sweetly-raspy, adding to her infectious personality that we saw in between each song, made her very enjoyable to watch. With her tracks having catchy melodies and fun yet meaningful lyrics, everyone’s head in the room was bopping along. She even gave us two exclusives that she’d written especially for the Prisma gig and gave us the chance to name one of them – we didn’t come up with anything good, so that song is still open for anyone to name.

Three of the five members of Suspect Alibi were next to take over the room with their musical talent. No one could have thought half the band was missing as their full-sounding music still managed to take over the room, flat, even the building. Although this was their first time at a Prisma gig, they are clearly either experienced in live performances as they didn’t show an ounce of nervousness or uncomfortableness; and their harmonies were spot on, putting everyone in the room in a relaxed and happy mood. An extra mention to Rish is also needed, for singing the harmonies without so much as a guitar or even a microphone in front of him during a number of the songs, which takes some guts.

The final musician of the musically-packed evening was Bud, who ended the night on a high with her energetic voice to match her equally energetic songs. She even gave us a little insight into the thought process behind each track she’d written and played for us. Her versatile voice ranging from soft to ultra-powerful (which is hard to believe she’s capable of when you see how small she is) just proves the talent this girl has. As she doesn’t gig often, it was exciting to see her at such an intimate event and in true Bud fashion she managed to keep everyone engaged right until her last note.

Bud. Photo: Prisma HQ

It’s easy to see why Prisma are getting their name out there, not only as a clothing brand but for playing major roles in the ever-growing Nottingham music scene. As they’re hoping to keep pushing and expanding their gigs, both living room and on a larger scale, it’s exciting to see which musicians they will be working with in the future.

Prismas Living Room Session took place at Prisma HQ on Thursday 30 July 2015.

Prisma Clothing website