Brent Faiyaz
9th January 2019
The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.
While Spark Arena heaved under the weight of FOMO By Night, right next door nestled amongst the rich red velvet curtains of The Tuning Fork was a Grammy nominated and double platinum artist just waiting to make his fans swoon.
If you are one of the un-initiated, then Brent Faiyaz is a name that you will want to make note of because you will be hearing a lot more of it. At only twenty-three Faiyaz has been astonishing critics and fans alike with his unique brand of sound that has a distinctly 90’s R&B feel to it without ever slipping into the territory of being just another carbon copy.
With no support act, fans were instead treated to a playlist curated by Faiyaz himself; brimming with tunes from such artists as Big Punisher, Lil Dude, Monifah and the legend himself The Notorious B.I.G it was a low-key yet brilliant way to set the tone for the evening while giving his fans an insight into what he is currently jamming.
Accompanied by both a live bassist and drummer, Faiyaz arrived to screams of devotion from the small but enthusiastic audience. Wasting no time he kicked straight into ‘Home’ before segueing into ‘All I Want’ both from his inspired debut album Sonder Son.
What strikes you most about watching Faiyaz perform live is his self-assurance; moving from being a more rap-orientated artist to singing while still in his Soundcloud days a few short years ago, Faiyaz is in complete control and he knows it. His voice is both rich and smooth with falsettos that are like sweet caresses.
Faiyaz’s lyrics have often been described as autobiographical; due to their honesty they strike a chord with his fans, many singing along to every line.
Faiyaz speaks very little during his set, occasionally pausing between songs to ask how everyone is doing or to compliment the female fans who make up the majority of the attendees. But really, Faiyaz doesn’t need to speak – his stage demeanour communicating clearly the emotion of his lyrics. Don’t be fooled though, this show isn’t all just innocence and light, there is an underlying current of masculinity to Faiyaz and he uses it, often taking the hands of his adorers as he sings to them or sitting on the edge of the stage as they press in closer around him. Where most shows separate audience from artist in the form of a security pit, this was a fan’s wet dream and as intimate as you could possibly ever hope to get with this R&B star.
Dropping ‘Invite Me’ from his first EP A.M. Paradox, Faiyaz soon kicked it up a gear, songs such as the guitar ballad style ‘Burn One’ – a track which hints at Faiyaz’s love of Lauryn Hill – soon giving way to the more up beat tempo of ‘First World Problemz/Nobody Carez’ double header.
Saving his best for last Faiyaz pulled out the big guns with ‘Talk 2 U’ and ‘Poison’ which involved a lengthy outro that drove the front rows wild with provocative pelvic thrusts, his vocals like slow drizzled honey. With a very brief play of the encore card, Faiyaz returned shirtless, delivering the Grammy Award nominated Goldlink track ‘Crew’ to an ecstatic audience who echoed every word. Keeping the energy levels high, Faiyaz followed it up with the rather catchy ‘No One Knows’ before finishing the set off with ‘Gang Over Luv’
Bringing a refreshing new perspective to not only R&B but music in general (check out Faiyaz’s work with Dpat and Atu under the moniker of Sonder) Brent Faiyaz will undoubtedly be a name that will feature heavily throughout 2019.
Were you there at the Tuning Fork for this smooth RnB show? Or have you seen Brent Faiyaz perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Home
- All I Want
- Invite Me
- Missin Out
- Insecure
- Burn One
- First World Problemz/Nobody Carez
- Stay Down
- L.A.
- Make Luv
- Talk 2 U
- Poison
- Crew (Goldlink [feat. Brent Faiyaz]) (encore)
- No One Knows (encore)
- So Far Gone (encore)
- Gang Over Luv (encore)
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