Live Review: Ten Fé +JW Ridley +Baywaves @ Oslo 09/02/2017

Ten Fé have been listed as one of the bands to watch this year, so we sent along our guy Rhys Haberfield to go check them out.



Baywaves – a Spanish four piece that profess themselves as “Hipnopop”. Quite what that meant, I wasn’t sure, but all became apparent once they took to the stage. With a bass-heavy mix, chorused vocals and a tonne of reverb, the band emanate good vibes. It’s a shame the crowd isn’t larger (despite it already being quite late) – there’s an energy here that could easily take over a crowd. Bassist Fran is probably the most animated of the four, both musically and in charisma; the basslines frequently dominate the soundscape and I’m continuously drawn to it; whether the venue’s sound tech mixed it that way or that’s just their sound, it’s distracting in the best way possible.



JW Ridley gets a slightly larger audience which reassures me for the rest of the night. The solo artist plays with backing tracks which feels a bit lacklustre, a full band would make the entire JW Ridley experience far more enjoyable - the delayed guitar and processed vocals give his sound an 80s feel so I half expect him to break out into “Take On Me”. He’s a decent singer, there’s no doubt about that and the crowd fills out significantly during his short set.



Ten Fé are from London and, to me anyway, feel like the most mainstream of tonight’s acts. Not that this is a bad thing of course – the London quintet has filled the room and the crowd absolutely love the set. Recent single, “Twist Your Arm” gets a special response from the room, with nearly every word sung back with ease. Ten Fé give a good performance that, save for a broken guitar strap goes off without a hitch. A single encore wraps the night up and sends everyone home with a smile on their face.



Words and Photography by Rhys Haberfield