Ekali unleashed his emotionally charged debut album, “A World Away” January 24th and rode that hype train directly into a North American tour. Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of seeing the Vancouver-based music producer at The Record Bar, an intimate venue in Kansas City.
Nathan Shaw, better known to his fans as Ekali, kicked off his “A World Away” tour with a two night run at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle, Washington. In most cities, Ekali is playing larger crowds upwards in the thousands. His show in Kansas City, however, catered to a smaller number of fans. He played to an almost sold-out room of fewer than 400 people but there was no shortage of enthusiasm in the crowd. The Record Bar was bursting with fluid movement and crowd sing-a-longs to his new songs like “Be Fine” featuring Wafia.
Heavy bass drops and booty-shakin’ beats are some of the first things I discovered when listening to Ekali. He has an innate ability to create a turn-up tune and get a crowd going while also delivering inspiringly passionate songs. The release of his album “A World Away”, Gave fans a look into his emotional side. The album opens up with “Fairy Tale”, a lyric-driven song with beautiful vocals by Elohim. A specific line in the song takes me back to the reoccurring themes that were happening throughout Ekali’s performance. “Twist of the spiral, I stay here awhile. The risk of the dream is what’s keeping me feeling alive.” This lyric stuck with me while the visuals were often spiraling out in various landscapes during the show.
Ekali’s visuals synchronize wondrously with his music to tell stories about the beauty of life and the chaos of ruin. All of his album artwork and tour visuals are done by French visual artist, Quentin Deronzier. The epic display on the screens behind Ekali was mesmerizing. Images of ancient ruins surrounded by lush greenery quickly spiraled out into apocalyptic scenes while palm trees flipped into shots of them being engulfed in flames. Much like Ekali’s music, the visuals showcase a contrast between the light and dark that goes on in the world around us.
As the night felt like it was coming to an end, Ekali played his self proclaimed “Favorite song I’ve ever made,” “Fairy Tale” and said farewell to a seemingly insatiable crowd. After the crowd’s persistent chants of “one more song,” he took the stage again for his real goodbye. He chose to end the night fittingly with “Hard to Say Goodbye” his collab with ILLENIUM and vocals by Chloe Angelides.
With the huge success of his debut album and a tour underway, 2020 is looking to be a stellar year for Ekali. Next time you see him coming to a city near you, buy the ticket. I promise he’ll take you on an adventure through time and space. If you can’t catch him on his “A World Away” tour, find him at Digital Gardens, Bonnaroo and Shambhala.
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*Featured Image of Ekali Via Justin Amoafo*
