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metropolis presents:

Metropolis Live x Clash Magazine

Leks Rivers + Lola Coca

METROPOLIS STUDIOS, London

Wed, Apr 12, 2017 7:00 PM

Free
Entry Requirements: 18+

Metropolis Live, in partnership with Clash Magazine, is a series of free monthly showcases presenting some of the best acts around town, performing live at Metropolis Studios, one of the most exclusive recording studios in the world.

To date we've had Saint Leonard's Horses, Bad Pop, Piano Wire and The King's Parade, Nimmo, Ten Fe, Our Girl and The Orwells.

The next show on Wednesday 12th April features two more amazing acts, Leks Rivers and Lola Coca

If you miss the chance to bag tickets for this show, make sure you join our waiting list.

Doors are at 7pm. Performance starts at 745pm. Finishes 10pm No admittance after 745pm (the shows are recorded so arrive early to guarantee entry) No dress code.

Line Up

Growing up around skateborading, Léks Rivers has trained himself to see the freedom of expression in everything around him. From looking at the streets as a concrete playground to the way he perceives musical genres as malleable forms designed to be twisted around one another. His songs can juxtapose the drama of 80’s pop music against the sombre reality of blues, and his live shows inject the electric energy of a rock 'n' roll into contemporary R&B. Listening to the way live saxophones stab through his electronic productions, it’s clear that the only thing that Léks is blind to, is the idea that there is any sort of rule book. “I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want, as long as it bangs,” he states. “If it's wack, then call people out on it.”

The West London vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer began adventuring in sound from his School days, wandering into the unlocked music classroom during his lunch breaks where he’d learn by trial and error. His penchant for lyricism comes from creative writing in English class, and he remembers the feeling when he had a poem accepted into a school anthology, laughing that at the time he thought it was “Mad cool!”

Nowadays his music also takes an anthology approach, albeit a little darker. He cites Netflix’s Black Mirror as the approach he’s going for with his debut album, as well as it’s prequel the 'Badlands' EP. “I think we have this thing where albums should be cohesive,” he says. “But I love the idea of doing something different, and having these separate stories that merge together. As a whole they will interconnect and explain what the overall theme is.”

With Badlands he’s also bought heavily into the idea of accompanying visuals. “Sometimes I don’t want a video to be the exact same as what the song’s narrative is,” he admits. “Maybe I want to jar people’s minds a bit.” His ‘Soho Knights’ video takes influence from skating footage and sharp Instagram edits, while ‘No Rest For The Wicked’ is a cinematic piece that sees him digging a grave as he sings about his rebirth into manhood. “I wanted it to be a kind of piss take on how we constantly try to change ourselves but fail. We keep working at it and keep on, because that's just what life is. We're just always trying to rebuild ourselves.”

Although not quite a stage name - his first name is Lékan and Rivers is his middle name - Léks Rivers (pronounced ‘Lakes’) perfectly reflects a lifelong obsession with water which describes his approach to life as an artist. “I remember reading about the strength of water through persistence,” he recalls. “Water will break through a valley, it will find its way over rocks and through cracks. It will keep on flowing until it gets to where it needs to go. That just describes me perfectly.”

Portsmouth underdog Lola Coca bowls through our speakers with an unapologetic stride, carrying her love for 90's Hip-Hop and Ska along for the journey.

London situated, the lyrically poignant Popstress has a way with words, simultaneously both playful, frank and nonchalant. Her smooth vocal tone spans between the goal posts of disinterest and a swan provoked.

Her background blending genre is somewhat reminiscent of British cult classics; The Streets, Gorillaz, and Basement Jaxx, only this time presented as a stand alone "one-(wo)man-band".

Lola Coca has been working alongside London's own multi-instrumentalist, writer-producer Stefan Skarbek (Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse) and legendary mixing engineer, Tony Maserati (Beyonce, Notorious B.I.G.).