The three artists on the ticket “are forward-thinking superfly radicals that indulge in what you might call a romantic urban sound”.
The Workman’s Cellar in Temple Bar is the latest space to be torn apart and rebranded as a gritty venue. It was previously known as The Liquor Rooms, a lush, gaudy, underground cocktail bar that I liked a lot. Now, the space exudes a dilapidated-chic vibe. It’s hard work to make a building look genuinely shoddy, but walking down its steps does actually feel like stepping back into the old scene after years of abandonment. Credit to the person with the crowbar.
As a micro venue, The Workman’s Cellar promises niche acts and rising talent. Tonight (28 November), it’s an exciting triple threat of Asian-Irish artists presented by Ex Oh Promotions under its Áise agus Éire banner. The series was launched last year after the group noticed “a frustrating lack of Asian representation in the Irish music scene”. This has been observably true for a long time. And, clearly, the talent is right there, ready to be mined and refined.
The three artists on the ticket – Kendino, Boringbrxwneyes and Andromeda I – are forward-thinking superfly radicals that indulge in what you might call a romantic urban sound, amalgamating R&B, rock, soul and the more astral end of modern rap. Each of their sets lasts about 30 minutes, a sharp sample of what each one brings to the table. But there’s plenty of collusion between the trio, too. About halfway through the second set, they all appear on stage together, sealing that collaborative connection.
First up is Andromeda I (said out loud as Andromeda the First), who performs with what is a massive band for such a small gig – a whole six other members, all decked out in various sports kits.
By day, Andromeda I is John Ocasion, born in Rome to Filipino parents, and living in Ireland since 2019. Boasting the kind of skate-punk image that Fontaines D.C. have been working hard to emulate – pink hair, leather skirt, heeled boots and a blue jersey (team and sport unknown) – Ocasion is a captivating front person. Their vocals are a punky mix of fizzed-out screamy-speaky-singy delivery over delightfully sludgy guitar riffs and melodies with belligerence and glow.
Before their last song, there’s a twist: “Something that you don’t know,” Ocasion says, fighting back the emotion, “is that this might be one of my last gigs here in Ireland. Summer of next year, I’m moving back to Rome.” A sad loss for our city.
Ocasion is soon back on stage, though – and now with comfortable shoes on – to play guitar for Boringbrxwneyes’s set. And they’re a really good guitar player, too, hitting an irresistible blues riff that lifts “The Couch Song”, one of Boringbrxwneyes’s vulnerable R&B tunes.
“I’m Boringbrxwneyes and we’re going to be playing sad songs,” she declares from the off. Heartache might have inspired some of her writing, but the sadness doesn’t transfer onto the crowd. Boringbrxwneyes’s performance is soft, crepuscular, intimate; on songs such as “Twenty”, her vocals flicker like a candle flame. So poised and delicate is her performance style that the audio mix is not always ideal as the drums threaten to overwhelm her, but this is a minor grievance.
After Boringbrxwneyes’s departure, the band set-up is replaced by a platform for a DJ to support the final act, Kendino. The native Philippine is, at different points in his set, also joined by his compadre HallowBoysDance. For a performance of the vibey “I Think She”, the pair invite the crowd to sing the sticky-sweet chorus, splitting the hook into two sections, one of each side of the room. My section is handed the more stuttering, “I think she, I think she, I think she”, while the other side of the crowd get the smooth, elevating refrain, “Got me falling in loveeee”. What a shame for us.
Then there’s the brighten-the-corners rap tune “Blush”, an Irish single of the year contender. Kendino, a dimple-faced behemoth of boundless energy, attacks the song as he has done every tune. Rapping with verve and joy, he bounces, yelps, twerks, always restless, never still.
It’s such a fun way to end a night of Asian-Irish ingenuity and showcase of three individual artists who deserve their own nook of the Dublin scene, or in the case of Andromeda I, wherever they decide to settle. Bon voyage and don’t be a stranger.
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