SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
Slipping through the net
Chilly Gonzales’ music is interspersed with much thoughtful and comedic storytelling and philosophising, writes GEORGE FOGARTY
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
SIMON DUFF reviews a new composition by German composer and pianist Florian Weber that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins
New releases from The Jim Mullen Quartet, Caroline Kraabel/John Edwards, and Matthew Muneses/Riza Printup
Chilly Gonzales
Royal Albert Hall, London
CHILLY GONZALES is a unique artist who has always managed to plough his own furrow. Dropped by his record label in 2004 after handing them a solo piano album (in complete contrast to the dancefloor rap they had signed him for), he went on to release it independently, whereupon it became his bestselling album to date.
He has remained independent ever since, leaving him free to experiment and change direction as he sees fit — often in the middle of a song, as it happens.
His latest album, Gonzo, throws down a self-therapising gauntlet to his fellow musicians, posing the stark question: can you be as arrogantly vulnerable; fearlessly iconoclastic and recklessly genre-busting as this, and still rock the party — all in one go?
More from this author
MICHAL BONCZA recommends a compact volume that charts the art of propagating ideas across the 20th century
MICHAL BONCZA reviews Cairokee gig at the London Barbican
MICHAL BONCZA rounds up a series of images designed to inspire women
Similar stories
ANGUS REID time-travels back to times when Gay Liberation was radical and allied seamlessly to an anti-racist, anti-establishment movement
JAMES WALSH happily capitulates to a master of DIY depression and despair
MIK SABIERS relishes an evening with an artist that has set her stall on challenging tradition