Bedouine at The Islington in London, review: Azniv Korkejian's performance is a low-key affair

Syria-born artist showcases a brand new song at her first UK show

Bedouine

“Here’s another song about how I really don’t go out much,” quips a solo Bedouine, the nom de plume of Azniv Korkejian, before performing her standout track, “Solitary Daughter”, on her accomplished eponymous debut.

This is the 32-year-old’s first UK show and it’s a low-key affair played out in front of a tiny (but appreciative) audience who are treated to a nine-song set. Korkejian, who was born in Syria’s Aleppo to Armenian parents before spending her childhood in Saudi Arabia and finally settling in Los Angeles, channels the likes of 1960s folk singer Shelagh McDonald, bossa nova star Astrud Gilberto and Laura Marling in her (too) brief appearance here.

It’s just Korkejian and her acoustic guitar and the cerebral singer-songwriter could have benefitted from the gentle heft of a backing band, ideally containing the likes of guitarist Smokey Hormel (who’s played alongside the likes of Tom Waits and Johnny Cash) and her producer and the bass guitarist Gus Seyffert (Beck and the Black Keys), two veteran musicians who made Korkejian’s Spacebomb-produced album such a polished, orchestral delight.

This performance is less polished – even a little awkward in places (“You’re quiet, but I guess I am a little too,” she admits to us) – but it’s elevated by Korkejian’s warm, exquisite voice, an instrument of soaring beauty which is married to some elegant, agreeably confessional lyrics. On the sensational “Solitary Daughter”, which recalls the early work of Leonard Cohen, the artist gently pleads “leave me alone to the books, leave me alone to the radio snow, leave me to the charcoal and the dancing shadow.”

After a brief stumble (she forgets how the song goes), Korkejian also boldly showcases a brand new (slightly perkier) song, which is as yet untitled. However, the other highlights tonight are the Laurel Canyon-flavoured “Nice and Quiet”, the seductive, Chris Isaak-like “Dusty Eyes” and the artist’s most obviously commercial song, “One of These Days”, which she ends with.

There’s no encore or fuss and Korkejian, who has already been showcased in US Vogue and has garnered five-star reviews for her debut, glides into the audience to chat. She appears to be very unshowy, but that might have to change if any of her gorgeous songs trigger the acclaim they really warrant…