Though quiet and unassuming in person, the ‘gritty soul’ singer Thabo can bring the house down when he takes to the stage. Having taken a hiatus to focus on new songwriting, Thabo recently performed at the exclusive H Club in Covent Garden as part of a Secret Sessions line-up. The engaging warmth of his address and the passionate thrust of his material had the audience rapt.

His newest release, ‘Never Let School’, is the less angsty, more soulful cousin of Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’. At his headline show at the Hideaway last year for the London Jazz Festival, Thabo explained his inspiration for the song: Mark Twain’s ‘gangster‘ remark that he ‘never let [his] schooling interfere with [his] education.’

With full-bodied vocals flecked with both grit and falsetto, Thabo sings of how the education system stifles creativity and imagination. Heavy and synth-laden at times but also stripped back and meditative, the piece culminates in the wonderful poetic breakdown of ‘Keep your, keep your, keep your caps and your gowns / And I’ll keep my, keep my, keep my head in the clouds.’ It’s an anthemic refrain encapsulating both defiance and aspiration.

(Image copyright: Conversation Records)