Caroline at the ICA

I thought Caroline’s debut album was a bit special. I loved the texture of the album. It had a timelessness to it. However, in hindsight, it hasn’t been an album I have returned to. It’s beautiful music but deserves my attention and not to be played in the background.

This afternoon, the first of two gigs at the ICA, Caroline gave us a preview of music destined for their next album. Playing in a circle at the centre of the room, the new material continued from where the last album finished. With a beautiful, delicate, layering of music from these talented musicians. With all the musicians facing each other, it didn’t really feel like they were playing to us, instead it was more like when I photograph sound checks at Daylight Music. Where musicians play attentively to each other, so they can tweak their performance. It’s something I love watching and feel privileged to experience. I always feel more close to the performance and it felt the same today. It felt like we were part of the process as the finesse the final sound before recording it on the album. Our reaction to the songs, becoming part of the finessing process.