Music: Skii Harvey

Slide Nightclub on Oxford St was the fittingly opulent and glamorous venue for the launch of the much-anticipated second album from Skii Harvey.

Skii took to the stage, dazzling in white to join her band for the evening, where she delivered an equally glittering performance. Skii’s fervour for the music she creates and delivers is tangible and, luckily for us, she is visibly delighted about what she does.

Foolish Girl is also the title track and first single from her new album, a collection of songs which Skii describes as “a true journey”. Fans were treated to a premiere of the video for the track, produced by Harvey House Productions.

Foolish Girl is probably the most ‘mainstream’ track on the album. It is more pop than jazz, easy to listen to and undoubtedly will go down well with fans of most mainstream genres. It doesn’t necessarily provoke much thought – although the themes behind it are certainly familiar ones (or is that just me?). It’s an excellent, if not entirely accurate, introduction to Skii’s musical offerings.

Early into the set, Skii sang One Cross – one of her “favourites from the new album”, an altogether heavier, grittier ballad about regrets. I felt at this point that we got to see more of the real artist. This was followed by Matador, which has a bouncy, Latin feel to it. The room and Skii wanted us to dance but sadly our inhibitions wouldn’t allow it.

Halfway through the set, Skii surprised us with a bare bones rendition of one of the album tracks for the 2011 album, Angels. It took some confidence to play this song at such an early stage in its development, but the single guitar and Skii’s voice complemented one another beautifully. I have to admit, I was moved. She has greater visions for this track, and is planning to flesh it out with strings and harps to create an “ethereal feel”. I am looking forward to the result.

Angels was followed by a couple of pieces from Skii accompanying herself on the piano. She delivered Those Eyes, as a stirring duet with her son Lloyd, about whom the song was written. Lloyd sang backing vocals for Skii all evening and their vocals worked superbly together, particularly in the cover of Mr(s) Jones, which was just fantastic.

Skii’s band  - a group of individual musicians in their own right – were mind bendingly talented (they had only one rehearsal together for the show), and were clearly inspired by her passion and musical capabilities. There was an obvious mutual respect between all the musicians which resulted in the production of some high quality music.

The album launch was everything it should have been. Fun, sumptuous and a chance for Skii to showcase her remarkable vocal talents to a captivated and enthusiastic audience.