“Culpepper’s performance throughout was fearless… His vocals – rough around the edges, but in the right places – anchored the stage theatrics.”
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Though in the formative stages of his music career – he told the audience that he only recently quit his teaching job – there is a lot of industry confidence and hype behind British soul/R&B artist Joel Culpepper. His 2017 EP Tortoise has production credits from the likes of Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Paolo Nutini, James Bay) and Roy Davis Jr (Eric Benet, Mary J Blige). Over the past few years, he has also supported Paloma Faith and Beverley Knight on tour. Following the success of his sold-out headline show at Camden’s Jazz Cafe last year, Culpepper is currently touring this spring. Last week he performed at EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney) in East London.
Culpepper clearly has the goods to be headlining his own shows. Culpepper’s performance throughout was fearless, radiating combustible sexual energy. His vocals – rough around the edges, but in the right places – anchored the stage theatrics. His immense falsetto howl is something to behold.
Sadly, the sound mixing in the venue did no favours in showcasing some of the melodic and lyrical subtleties in Culpepper’s music. But his hooks and general aesthetic – a fusion of different styles of black music with bombastic brass – did cut through. He began with ‘Far From Your Average’ – an explosive statement of his originality. He counterbalanced the heady, blazing numbers with more mellow compositions such as ‘My Father’s Son’ and ‘Don’t Mean I’m in Love’.
After bringing the One Voice Choir to the stage, he performed the powerful but contemplative ‘Mr and Mrs Brown’ – written about a troubled pupil Culpepper managed when working as a teacher. The choir remained on stage for a rendition of Prince and the New Power Generation’s ‘Diamonds and Pearls’. Culpepper’s collaborators DJ Yoda, songwriter Guy Chambers (Robbie Williams, Mark Ronson, Katie Melua), and DJ/producer Swindle were also brought to the stage to perform.
This guy has buzz, and rightly so.
(Image taken from Soundcrash website).
