Soul Jam at the Ritzy

by Clea Guy Allen

I feel lucky to have been let into one of south London’s best-kept secrets.

When I heard that the Soul Jam evening Upstairs @ The Ritzy was in Brixton, I had no idea what to expect.

Not being a native Londoner myself, all I knew of Brixton were the horror stories I have heard from friends and the bad coverage it receives in the news: shootings, stabbings, drugs offered to you as soon as you step out of the station.

I was expecting the smell of blood in the air, but Brixton must have been on its best behaviour that night.

Lively and bustling, the only smell in the air that night was that of jasmine, vanilla and ylang ylang from the incense stall just outside the tube.

The Ritzy - an independent cinema with licensed bars, a café and restaurant - is all the glamour and glitz of an old school evening of dinner and a movie, mixed in with the contemporary twist of a night of spontaneous live hip hop from The Illersapiens and others thanks to its intimate music venue Upstairs @ The Ritzy.

After the Illersapiens have done their set, the stage is opened to the floor for others to bare their souls in the form of dub poetry, mcing and singing.

Diversity

Speaking to Katy, 20, the singer of Illersapiens, she said that every week there are plenty of people who get up and show people what they are made of.

“It’s great because there is such a diversity when it comes to the performances that the evening never has the same feel twice.”

The Illersapiens, who have known each other since school, are a seven-man band (well, six plus one girl).

Each brings something unique, with Mr Man being the MC, Katie B the vocalist who adds a touch of soul, Ollie Chub on guitar and Pierre Chanquion on bass. Louis Sharpe plays the drums whilst Dom Whaley adds percussions and Callum Welch injects some jazz to the mix with his saxophone.

On paper the group looks like it shouldn’t work. Too eclectic, a bit far fetched. But on stage they rock it, the crowd loves them and there is absolutely no one who isn’t dancing along to the beat.

I would best describe them as urban jazz meets hip-hop dub-step. They have an EP out on i-Tunes and Spotify right now called Elevate and they also have a new EP on the way.

The band have their sights set on bigger things than Upstairs @ The Ritzy, but at the same time it is one of their favourite places to play, thus the residency.

“It’s such a great place to have a jam session, its an intimate Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 ace with an inclusive attitude…everyone is welcome and everyone has a great time,” and I would have to agree.

To check out more about the band go to theillersapiens.com

Soul Jam
Free entry
Upstairs @ The Ritzy
Ritzy Picturehouse
Brixton Oval
Coldharbour Lane
London SW2 1JG
Thursday November 12 and Thursday December 17