“What if I told you that music is not popular but universal – intelligent noise resonating from the soul of the universe?” – If I Told You, Anthony Anaxagorou
In bars and pubs around London, a small revolution is taking place. It’s not the celebrity orientated revolution a long haired comedian that has been wafting across our media for weeks now. It’s by people that have lived the life they are speaking off. This is the new generation of spoken word artists that are rising from the corners of the country, not yet well known in mass media [yet] but are changing the landscape of the UK and the young people they speak to.
Out-Spoken was founded in 2012 by Anthony Anaxagorou and hosted by The Ruby Kid, Out-Spoken invites the UK’s leading poets, rappers and musicians to share their art at a monthly showcase. On a cold November night I found myself at The Bedroom Bar in Shoreditch for probably one of the most inspirational evenings of my life. It was officially the EP launch of Anthony Anaxagorou and Karim Kamar’s beautiful piece of work ‘It Will Come To You’, a collection of Anthony’s poetry combined with Karim’s classical music compositions. What also evolved from the evening was a collection of incredibly talented individual’s whom allowed you to see the world through different eyes.
That evening was a celebration of talent, and a communion of friendship. Anthony invited seven wonderful poets to share the stage with him, each bringing their own unique style to the proceedings. I cannot claim to have loved one more than the other. Each will be listed at the end of this piece, and I implore you to check each and every single one out. Some work was funny, some angry and some seeping in heart wrenching sadness. What continues to amaze me is the quality of work spoken word artists create these days. Some are teachers, playwrights, social workers during the day, poets by night. Poetry is the thread that joins them all. What also struck me about the evening was the support they gave each other. Ego and competition was left at the door, everyone was there for a common cause.
It was hard for me to write this piece. Anthony’s work often leaves my emotions reeling. I find it impossible not to cry when listening to ‘It Will Come To You’, the depth of his words open doors that have been closed for too long and can leave your edges feeling raw and exposed. Accompanied by Karim’s music, it is bought up to another level. It is hard not to feel physically moved by an Out-Spoken evening. You also feel raised up….and taken outside of the daily mundane media homogenisation that is present in all our lives. The reality star slut shaming, the newspaper lies, the drama, the pettiness, the ‘You are just not good enough’ daily influx of soul destroying images, are all left behind and what is left is art. Pure and simple. Go to an Out-Spoken night. Be inspired. And know that a new time….. is just around the corner.
The next Out-Spoken event is on Tuesday 21st January at The Star Of Kings Pub, 126 York Way, N1 at 7.00pm. http://outspokenlondon.com/
On the night the following poets performed, please check each one out. In order of performance:
The Ruby Kid
Katie Bonna
Dean Atta
Joelle Taylor
Adam Kammerling
Robert Auton
Raymond Antrobus
Joshua Idehen
Sabrina Mahfouz
https://www.facebook.com/KarimKamarofficial
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/it-will-come-to-you-ep/id733120421
