Egyptian Hip Hop  - Live - Islington Union Chapel London

From 20/11/09

Bringing together an eclectic mix of talent from many genres of mainstream music, the Little Noise Sessions, hosted by Islington’s spectacularly atmospheric Union Chapel, are certainly the hottest tickets in town come November; big names performing stripped back renditions of their classic tracks to a sold out audience in the name of learning disability charity MENCAP, the shows are truly something to behold for those able to get in. Tonight is by far the most overtly ‘rock’ date in this year’s sessions, headed up by a welsh duo of returning megastars Lostprophets and fast rising crowd charmers The Blackout, with The King Blues kicking out another hometown set alongside.

After a welcome from compere and curator Jo Whiley though it’s up to notably fresh faced quartet Egyptian Hip Hop to kick off proceedings, translating their synth-splattered indie tunes into an acoustic context surprisingly well... mesmeric and intriguing, if visually worried, (after all, this is far from a conventional show) the Mancunian lads give a good account of themselves despite a few technical mishaps and coordination issues. Could we be looking at the (less irritating) Klaxons of 2010? It would be interesting to check these guys out in their natural habitat, but on this display there’s plenty of potential here, and they have more than enough time to fulfil it.