On Sunday, the organisers of Cross the Tracks were faced with an unexpected hitch that almost put a damper on their Sunday festival.
The Brockwell Park all-dayer, which specialises in all things jazz, funk, and soul, had neo-soul icon Erykah Badu lined up as their headliner, but she matched the whimsy of the ever-changing British weather by pulling out just hours before her slot.
As a result, rap luminary Freddie Gibbs seemed more shocked than the crowd when he joined Madlib – originally billed as a solo DJ, but now tasked with entertaining the masses with Gibbs as a surprise addition – on the main stage. “They pulled me off the plane at Heathrow!’, he yelled, wide-eyed. “It’s cold as f*** out here!”
Things were far more relaxed on the Terminal stage with Jalen Ngonda. The 28-year-old has had quite a journey of his own, honing his contemporary soul sound in the outskirts of Washington DC, and playing the organ at church. In return, parishioners fundraised to send him to Liverpool’s Institute of Performing Arts.
Despite label pressure to ditch his introspective, classic arrangements, Ngonda stood firm, and has flourished as an independent artist in recent years. Selections from last year’s debut album Come Around And Love Me – an intricately produced Seventies time capsule that Lana del Rey might envy – leave no room to hide, for Ngonda’s vocals, or for the sprawling stage band. Of course, they made it all look effortless.
A willowy figure, Ngonda packs a signature falsetto that is perhaps even better live. It Takes A Fool, a mournful, slinky number with vocals curling smoke-like around the brass section, had the crowd grooving to the prospect of a semi-toxic relationship.
And Come Around & Love Me picked up the tempo for a proper Motown tribute, Ngonda jumping between buttery melodies and Marvin Gaye-style “come on, oohs”.
It’s a credit to the singer’s arrangements, and his band, that a 20th century style sounds so perky. Dua Lipa, Kylie, Jessie Ware and co. may have the disco trend in a chokehold when it comes to dominating the charts, but Ngonda’s far more classic soul style owes much to instrumental technique.
Illusions made space for trumpet and drum solos. And the self-contained Ngonda had more vocal surprises in store on If You Don’t Want My Love, bursting into a huge, but slightly brokenhearted chorus between the usual mellow grooves.
A decade after his arrival in the UK, Ngonda’s blend of classic soul and contemporary flair seems to have found the appreciation it deserves, speaking to the present while paying homage to the past. Perhaps an upgrade to main stage will be due if Erykah cancels again.
