Words by Tom Tozer | Photography by Hannah Elizabeth
Long Tonic‘s EP launch was a well thought out and carefully considered affair. Hosted at Falmouth’s Palacio Lounge the open space was a perfect fit for bands and audience alike. It was a sell out night that saw the big space full to the brim with music lovers. In fact the merch stands were nearly torn bare. Across the night we were treated to a variety of soothing sounds that ranged from funk, soul and everything in between.
Opening the night was the smooth sounding, Eleo Saga, a mixture consisting of Soul and Hip-hop but a fresh variation. This happened to be a debut performance and is straight out of Falmouth University Dorms, however, original music was played. With soulful slick bass, a drumbeat which will have you wavering behind some Tom Misch-like raw vocals. Slowly, the audience crept up and began to vibe with the velvety sound that filled the room, effortlessly bringing the audience together for a moment of appreciation for music, a perfect way to kick off the day. The South-West Londoner has lots of potential and will only get better.
Following up was No Remedy, a female voice driven five-piece indie rock band in which is infused with inspiration from jazz, funk, and pop. Stepping up the energy levels, they brought pure joy to the house. Forever flowing their beautiful sound with a mixture of covers and originals. Going from simple jazz with powerful vocals to a full frenzy of music oozing from their instruments, a true joy to see and at this point, the entire room was buzzing. The group showed their worth here and are a real feel-good band to go and see.
Next up was yet another local band, Kit Massima, these guys really brought the roof down. Exploding onto the stage with pure spirit. The 6-piece lit the place on fire with unreal riffs, super funky house piano and basslines to lose yourself too. In front of that was a stylish, stimulatingly sweet female voice that seemed to have no limits of talent. She brought the whole musical tidal wave together. You could tell that this band was local and had been together for a significant amount of time as they had support left, right and centrally signing along, seeking attention from the party that was in front of them. By the end of their set, the entire room was filled and not one person did not have a smile on their face. It was truly unifying and authentically pleasing to an audience who came to boogie. Kit Massima is tight and undoubtedly have talent that many want to hear, they could have a great future ahead of them.
Concluding the evening was the hosts, Long Tonic, a troop of four expressing a blend of blues and funk. With the previous bands’ excitement still in the room, their performance was set to be colossal. The Falmouth University boys knew they were in for an incredible night but the direction the evening took nobody could have expected. A jam-packed room waited for the four-piece to take the stage to celebrate their first EP. Then unquestionably, the sea of listeners heard the infectious riffs from Matt Hooper and enter into musical euphoria, as if there was no break from the last act. The entire room singing along as if they were in their bedrooms alone. It was a wonderful relationship between band and audience, energy flying around and back and forth. The happier the crowd was, the happier the band was. The onlookers now on one another’s shoulders, embracing each other, hollering out lyrics with pure glee. This feeling lasted the entire set and when it came to the end the room demanded, not wanted, demanded, an encore and got what they wanted but it would never have been enough, nobody wanted the music end. When it did, a lions roar of cheering, whistling and jeering filled the ears of the hosts and at that moment they would have felt overjoyed. Long Tonic showed they can put on a show and if they continue to put on nights and play as they did on the night, they are undeniably going places.
This was a purely happy event and Long Tonic could not have asked for a better turn out for their EP launch. The full lineup smashed it, beginning to end, the crowd were dreamlike for all those on stage Changing the event in any way after was not a thought in anyone’s mind surely. The evening was a showing that Falmouth is a hub for music in Cornwall with funk and jazz and many other genres on offer in many outfits. All those there and involved surely will remember it for a long long time. It was an awesome night.
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