Kitten and The Hip Live at Boiller Room
Image © Neil_Mach October 2012
Image © Neil_Mach October 2012
Ashley Slater is a UK based trombone player and best known for his work with Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) in the band Freak Power. Kitten is a beautiful and intelligent singer songwriter. Together, they write songs, hang out, and play mischief.
In February, they were having a chat, and Kitten advised Ashley not to worry about something or other. Their dance-floor hit ‘Don’t You Worry About That’ was born the next day.
Live, Kitten and The Hip are usually a quartet, with Kitten singing and Ashley taking to the trombone and providing ‘scat’ style improv vocals. Kitten is a natural front-woman, at once mesmerising and powerfully seductive.
At Guildford’s favourite music venue, The Boiler Room, 4th October 2012, the band played their debut single “Dont You Worry” ( which has been signed to Hed Kandi and is promised major success in the clubs.) This song has gleaming vocals with a hint of sexy varnish around the smooth jazz edges. The cheeky trombone adds an impudent spiciness to this swing time Lindy Hop dancing track.
At the Boiler Room, Kitten & the Hip played without drums, and there was, in my opinion, a slight over-reliance on their prerecorded backing tracks. Songs like ‘Don’t Touch the Kitten’ have a lush “swing era” feel to them. Kitten’s cleaned out pipes really shine… chromium plated diamond studded style. The lilting ‘Swingle Singers’ sounding backing vocals adds some fine razzmatazz . And the ‘bone rubs up against the cat’s plate-glass voice – creating a heady static electricity to the fizzy pieces.
With their boogie woogiman connections and Manhattan Transfer style evocations, their material is clubland polished. If you go mad for the “Swing house” thing, this may be for you.
- © Neil_Mach October 2012 -
Link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kitten-and-The-Hip
