We can do this all night, baby

Updated: Mar 5, 2023

London, UK, January 2023

An unexpected Christmas present: three emerging artists being unveiled just hours before the event, in an unknown location. We are in the Soho district at Outernet - The Lower Third, in London, one of my favourite European cities, my second home.

Down a few stairs we found ourselves in a basement, where the atmosphere was really chill: blankets and pillows on the floor in front of the stage, soft lighting and a bit of music in the background... it was impossible not to be completely immersed in the show that was about to begin. Gradually it filled up with people with different accents. There must have been about 30 of us in all, it was very intimate. All the chatter of the people enriched the moment. We couldn't wait for it to start.

Sofar is a global community that connects audiences and artists through music. It is a format born in London and present in more than 400 cities around the world (we found out that Billie Eilish also performed here before her debut, crazy). The locations are always changing and are of the most diverse.

With a good gin and tonic, sitting cross-legged, we were ready to start our evening. We had absolutely no idea what to expect. All three artists were able to conquer us: they brought their completely different styles and personalities to the stage with them.

Alice Faye opened with her folk tones accompanied by acoustic guitar, straight from Scotland. The contrast of the songs' themes with her irony was unsettling, she was able to charm everyone and fill the room completely silent, but also to make people laugh heartily between songs, telling a little bit about herself.

Broken Pen rapped incredibly, he entertained but also made people think with the lyrics of his songs. With one track he went round the letters of the alphabet talking about how we often get lost in superficial things without giving proper weight to what is really important. He describes the meaning of his name Broken Pen as follows: "my pen breaks every time that i start writing from the weight of my life, its exciting emerging from the darkness just to realise that you've always been enlightened."

With the third artist, it was impossible to stand still. Expectations were high, and they were fully met. A3O (Aeo) is the Afrobeat artist of MOBO UnSong's UK 2022. His rhythms, his origins, the vibes... with his band and two fantastic backing singers he has won everyone over. His mission is 'to create music that lives forever' and that is exactly what it is, I still listen to his songs.

The night in three words: enthralling and unexpectedly incredible.

We listened, sang, laughed and danced. The sequence of artists was an escalation of emotions. We look forward to the next Sofar event in other cities, starting with our own Milan.

Thank you sis, it was a great Christmas present.

Ps. If you go to a Sofar event where you read this story, tag @seimaistato!