Jape at Electrowerkz

Last, Irish electronic four-piece Jape played a knock-out show in the minimalist surroundings of Angel’s Electrowerkz. The crowd was almost entirely Irish – and they loved it.

By the end of the night, the rave that started at the front had spread to the back and everyone was jumping, pumping their fists and singing the lyrics back at frontman Richie Egan. The singer and guitarist was joined on stage by Glenn Keating on drums, keys and synths (“lots of stuff”) and another drummer to add to the propulsive percussion. The lighting was hectic and ravey, highlighting Egan cheerfully bopping away. He came on stage with a friendly “hello” and launched into the set. His patter was very fast and at times hard to understand, but he was charming: “it’s hot in here, yowza” he exclaimed at one point. As he left the stage, his soaked sweatshirt was testament to how much he put into his performance.
 
The second song of the set, The Heart’s Desire from latest album This Chemical Sea, had a strong hook and an industrial breakdown suitable for the surroundings, which stirred things up. The songs are meatier, wilder live than they are on record, making it basically impossible not to dance, or at least furiously tap your foot and nod your head. Egan’s voice was lent more spaciousness by the echo effects. The lyrics were occasionally repetitive but there was a surprising depth to them, a morbidity as they pondered on love and death on songs like Graveyard and Floating in a way that clearly resonated deeply with the audience. 
 
They finished with Floating to the crowd’s delight, then rather sweetly trooped off stage into the audience only to troop immediately back on for one more song. Egan was down-to-earth, selling records at the back of the gig and mingling with the audience after. All in all, a fun gig. 

Jessica Wall

For further information about Jape and future events visit here.

Watch the video for The Heart’s Desire here: