Live Review + Gallery | Flyte @ Union Chapel, London

Flyte | Jacob Alon

Union Chapel, London

10th December 2024

Photography by Izzy Reeve (@izzymayv)

Izzy Reeve

I’m a London-based music photographer and occasional writer and I love documenting gigs and people enjoying them. Having just moved back to London from Scotland, where I first started shooting concerts, I’m looking forward to exploring what the scene down south has to offer with CLUNK! From new acts to festivals, I love what clunk champions and I can’t wait to get started.

You can usually expect Flyte to deliver perfect harmonies and intricate lyricism, but this Christmassy night at Union Chapel was like no other

Will Taylor and Nick Hill seamlessly delivered their tender, folky catalogue to a transfixed crowd, elevated by guest appearances from Billie Marten, Kenneth from the Milk Carton Kids, Jasmin Jethwa and M Field.

With a string orchestra joining the ensemble, tracks from their formative latest record ‘Flyte‘, such as ‘Don’t Forget About Us’, ‘Tough Love’ and ‘Speech Bubble’ sounded revitalised but at home. The crowd were transfixed by debut album classics, such as ‘Faithless’ and ‘Cathy Come Home’, and treated to previews of unreleased music from an upcoming project.

Ellie Consta, Coco Inman and Nina Kiva added warmth and magic with their musicianship, notably to standout unreleased track ‘Emily and I’. I could go on, too, about the intimate and breathtaking opening set from Jacob Alon. After seeing Jacob’s recent performance on ‘Later… with Jools Holland’, it was a treat to hear their angelic voice live.

They later joined Flyte for a haunting rendition of ‘Perfect Dark’, which was performed with winding, echoing harmonies, harps and guitar lines. It’s hard to choose a highlight when everything exuded joy – from the chemistry of Will and Nick, to the soaring of strings, to the standing ovation.

Seeing Flyte live is like a beautiful, musical hug, if I hadn’t already made that clear, and their new music sounds like it will meet the high standards the band have already set.

Catch them live at their upcoming Cardiff and Glasgow dates, or at their European and Irish dates next year!