Komedia, 27th March

Singer/songwriter Sam Isaac and a few friends took time out of their mostly plugged-in UK tour to play an acoustic set at Komedia’s intimate Studio Bar. XYZ’s Léo Rahban arrived early to check them out.

It was my first time at Studio bar and I loved its atmosphere; it felt a bit like me and a lot of friends had been invited to a very private party! The room was full so we sat at the front corner by the stage.

21-year-old Sam is the polar opposite of the ‘fashionista’ musician. Wearing a plain white t-shirt and unfitted jeans he reminded me of a young Newton Faulkner (without the dreads) or even Get Cape’s Sam Duckworth. I’d listened to him online and was compelled by his introspective lyricism and perfect melodies. His songs were incredibly soft and everyone sat quietly, enjoying the ambience as he performed with a violinist. Second song ‘Jack’ and was inspired by “falling in love in the 90’s and David Beckham in 1998.”

A small group of people were standing at the front, singing along throughout the first few songs. At first, I thought they were devoted fans but in fact they were the remainder of the sometime touring band, taking their place onstage one by one as the gig progressed. Before ‘When The Silhouette Drops’, Sam jokingly asked the crowd whether they were still there as he couldn’t see anyone. By the forth song ’I Trade My Friends For You’, the whole band were onstage. Although they appeared to lack confidence, staring at the floor for most of the gig, the music they produced was mature beyond their years.

Still, beautiful melodic music is what we came for and Sam and his friend delivered an hour of exactly that. I walked home relaxed and chilled out, which is pretty unusual for a Thursday night.

Words by Léo Rahban
Photos by David Tatnell