Baba Stiltz live at Aspers Casino

  • Baba Stiltz makes his live UK debut at one of London's biggest casinos.
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  • Last Wednesday evening I caught the overground from Hackney Central to Stratford. London was in the middle of a heatwave and I was headed for Aspers Casino, a huge gambling complex in the heart of the sprawling Westfield shopping centre. It's one of the UK's largest casinos, though tonight it was hosting entertainment of a very different kind: an intimate live show from Baba Stiltz. Stiltz has risen through the ranks as a DJ to play clubs and festivals all over the world, but he's a musician at heart and singing is something he's had on the back burner for a while. Pitched-up vocals often appear in his tracks, and he's played trumpet when producing for the likes of the UK rapper Burna Boy. Wednesday's live show, Stiltz's first in the UK, came a month after Showtime, an EP for XL that bridges the gap between the club and his bubbling live ambitions. I chuckled to myself as I took the elevator up to the casino, which sat opposite a Range Rover showroom. As I entered the huge, windowless, neon-lit gambling hall, I was greeted by security guards dressed in suits."You must be here for the show?" They asked, looking me up and down. Tonight's clientele was probably a tad more millennial than usual. Before the show, I briefly caught Stiltz in the casino's restaurant, where he was enjoying a steak. He told me the performance was going to be "a sensitive one." It took place in Sky Bar, a glitzy cocktail lounge with a floor-to-ceiling drinks display and an outdoor terrace stacked with fruit machines, so punters could gamble while they smoked. The Fear And Loathing vibe hung heavy. I was handed a Baba Stiltz T-shirt at the door. Will Bankhead was on warm-up duties, playing his signature blend of dub and dancehall. Buccaneer's "Fade Away," a zany cover of Enya's "Orinoco Flow," set the tone for the night ahead. The audience of around 150 quickly pushed forward when Stiltz appeared in front of an elegant metal panelled wall. "If anyone could get me a Guinness," he told the room, "I'd be a happy boy." Flanked by his best friend and frequent collaborator Samo DJ, who played backing tracks from a set of CDJs, Stiltz took the mic and opened with an unreleased cut called "Together." "I don't wanna die tonight," he sang softly. Later, he crooned: "It gets crazy sometimesss," before dropping into a squat-like move with a confident swagger. Stiltz is no stranger to dancing—in his youth, he endured six years training at the Royal Swedish Ballet. After pausing to swig his Guinness and check the World Cup score on a TV above the bar, Stiltz moved into "Showtime." Rocking the mic back and forth, he sang: "I'm a DJ with a good soul / Treat you good girl / Try to make it work / Make it work girl / Cause I make things work" over the track's sweet soul melody, a sample of The Right Track's "Baby I Love You." On "Situation," Stiltz picked up his guitar and made a joking gesture to play it with his teeth, Jimi Hendrix-style. He plucked the bass chords and moved around the mic like a woodpecker, first rapping then crooning the lyrics: "Girl you mean the world to me." Stiltz addressed the crowd between tracks. "It's a strange time we're living in right? But I guess that's just more fun for everyone right?" He laughed awkwardly while clutching his pint. The soaring house melody on "Maze" got the room dancing. To close, Stiltz revealed a couple more unreleased songs as a surprise. One of them, titled "Rodeo," might be his catchiest and most accomplished piece of songwriting yet. The gig was a rough and ready blend of confidence and irony. It was exciting to see the live show in its earliest stages, and I could easily envision Stiltz touring a more polished version in years to come. He's putting his heart and young career on the line with this sharp left turn. Kudos to him for switching things up. Photo credit / Joe Coghill
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