Zosia Kibalo
Photographer trying to capture all the colours of the world one gig at a time. I love experimenting with my photos, both digitally and old school arts and crafts style. I also find my voice through writing about art in any shape or form. Catch me hopping around grassroots venues bopping my head and camera to some good tunes!
The Southbank Centre’s Concrete Voids project featuring LEX AMOR’s captivating performance, blending sound and storytelling
Buzzing with energy and colour, the Southbank Centre is one of those places that leaves you feeling inspired and hopeful for the future of creative spaces in London. With a prestigious festival hall on one side and an iconic skatepark on the other, it is open for all to enjoy – inviting everyone to soak up the ever-present sense of creativity, community, and collaboration.
Just last month, it unveiled its new project, Concrete Voids – a one-of-a-kind sound system in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, conceived and designed by sound technician TONY BIRCH. I had the pleasure of witnessing the second installment of this experimental venture, featuring LEX AMOR: a North London rapper, singer, producer, and engineer known for her innovative blend of rap, R&B, and soulful storytelling.
After the lights dimmed, signalling the start of the show, we were left to sit in the darkness while the speakers came alive with a male voice preaching the importance of love and the beauty of human connection. This introduction foreshadowed the performance we were about to experience as AMOR invited the audience to not only focus on the music but to be a part of the whole experience in celebration of our collective humanity.
The monologue was followed by an impressive instrumental intro allowing BIRCH to show off his creation from the very first note. Walls became alive with 81 loudspeakers hidden in the Hall’s air vents and chambers, producing an all consuming and all surrounding sound which I could quite literally feel in my bones. After a couple minutes of pure musical ecstasy produced by the band on stage, LEX AMOR entered the picture with her overwhelmingly calming aura instantly setting the mood of the performance ahead.
There’s a nostalgic quality to AMOR’s music. With mellow, minimal beats her songs are filled with warm analog textures (think vinyl crackle, Rhodes keys, and dusty drum breaks). The beats are mellow, often minimal, complimenting her unique style of delivery. Reminiscent of spoken word, she delivers lyrics with a calm, grounded cadence that draws listeners in.
AMOR strolled calmly from one side to the stage to another, threading a narrative of identity, place, memory, and the nuances of everyday life. Her words were complemented by visuals from her recently released short film FORWARD. Projected on the walls of the venue, they celebrated the casual beauty of our day to day and the importance of relinquishing some of the control of our lives that we so deeply crave. Not everything is always going to go to plan but it’s the everpresent motion of life that we can find comfort in.
The highlight of the show came when suddenly we started hearing harmonies coming from within the crowd. Looking behind my shoulder I spotted a choir, positioned right in the middle of the hall. When I turned my attention back on stage I was faced with JAY FADER, a masterful vocal director that conducted the choir throughout the rest of the show. Thus began a lyrical conversation between the band on stage and the choir in the stand, telling a story of collective gratitude and fortune. FADER’s movements flowed and crashed with the melodies; his gestures so purposeful and powerful I could not peel my eyes or lens away.
Even though these early days of the Concrete Voids are viewed by BIRCH as the experimental phase, for me, the performance was nothing short of perfection. Perhaps it’s that very freedom of the early experimental stage that gives creators like LEX AMOR the space to truly explore. She mentioned how BIRCH and the Southbank Centre allowed her room to play, to experiment, to discover new ways of engaging with the space. That spirit of relaxed exploration was ever-present—and incredibly soothing. No pressure. Just art, unfolding.
The sound created by AMOR and BIRCH resonated with me on a deeper level; addictingly calming, it quieted down my racing thoughts and left me longing for more of this bliss. After leaving the show, my ears seemed to be tuned to hear the subtle harmonies of my surroundings. For a moment, I relished in the simple melodies of people’s chatter and nighttime noises while reflecting on the show I just left. I breathed in and out and off I went. But a part of my heart stayed.
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By Zosia Kibalo
