Shabaka Hutchings’ sold-out show at the Barbican

On Thursday 9th May 2024, as the sun reared her head and shone down upon London following a long hiatus from these otherwise gloomy shores, scores of people full of sun-induced joy and optimism flocked to the Barbican to bear witness to Shabaka Hutchings. Similarly to the sun, Shabaka Hutchings announced his hiatus in Winter 2023, but from the saxophone – not necessarily from London. His re-emergence to a sold-out London crowd marked a poignant shift in his artistic exploits. No longer performing the saxophone to raucous crowds, Hutchings has been toiling diligently on flutes – most notably the shakuhachi. Hundreds of us, all brought together by a common interest in Shabaka Hutchings’ musical endeavours, cultural explorations and spirit-led philosophical enquiries, peacefully anticipated experiencing this new iteration of his musical evolution.

Shabaka Hutchings Barbican. Photo by Mark Allan.

The crowd arrived early and filled out the Lakeside Terrace, basking in the much-needed springtime warmth. Whilst sat along the lake, we could see the breeze blowing gently through Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama’s Purple Hibiscus, a new installation that has transformed the Barbican’s iconic concrete walls into a beautiful pink and purple tapestry of memory. Purple Hibiscus shows the power of craft and of taking pride in collaborative work and signifies the continued relevance of intergenerational knowledge.

As we sat out in the sun, content between the water fountains and Purple Hibiscus, we – much like the Barbican’s Brutalist architecture – transformed into… sat in anticipation for… and became active participants of the continued relevance of intergenerational knowledge. Indeed, taking in Ibrahim Mahima’s 2,000 square metre, hand-embroidered artwork served as a fitting prelude to Shabaka Hutchings’ performance. What better way to await the start of this concert than to bear witness to an installation that shares the same core values intrinsic to Hutchings’ own practice?

Shabaka Hutchings Barbican. Photo by Mark Allan.

Shabaka Hutching’s first solo album, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace is a departure from the music audiences may be accustomed to hearing from the esteemed musician. Whilst some of his former music in bands Shabaka and the Ancestors, The Comet is Coming and Sons of Kemet played to large audiences searching for loud music with a high BPM to lose themselves in dance to, this new album is one that allows for stillness, introspection and clarity of mind. Shabaka had stated that he experienced burnout from the need to tour so heavily to survive as a musician. His work ethic kept him “on the road consistently treating the performance of a spiritual practice as a commodity to be sold repeatedly.” This performance at the Barbican Concert Hall, then, can be seen as Shabaka grounding himself in his quest to generate “energy without tension”.

When I last saw Shabaka perform the saxophone, it was at Cross the Tracks festival in Brockwell Park to a large, sweaty, dancing crowd. Whereas I attended Sons of Kemet’s Cross the Tracks set with the desire to groove until my legs could groove no more, I arrived at Shabaka Hutching’s Barbican performance with every intention to lose myself in meditation, to close my eyes and slow my breath, and invite the soothing sounds of various flutes and harps to help me achieve a sense of tranquillity.

Shabaka Hutchings Barbican. Photo by Mark Allan.

This sense of tranquillity is palpable when Shabaka walks on stage. His tall frame glides peacefully across the stage and he is met by resounding applause. He is dressed quite casually: comfortable black trousers and a comfy black t-shirt — no longer in the Nicholas Daley outfits I have come to associate with his live performance. He is also in a colourful hat and his usual round spectacles. There is an undeniable sense of ease as he takes his place on the stage. A calmness sweeps across the sold-out Concert Hall. Yes, it is an incredible feat of Shabaka’s career to be playing his solo debut album to a sold-out crowd at the Barbican Concert Hall. But its more than that. We are all so happy to be here. To bear witness to Shabaka’s music, to appreciate the sounds that are the result of a lifetime of exploration and rigorous musical study, and to hear what can happen when you humble yourself before a new instrument and rebuild your sound from the foundations upwards.

Shabaka is joined on stage by Alina (@alinahhipharp) and Miriam Adefris (@_badgalmiri) on the harp, Hinako Omori (@hinakoomori) on the synth and Elliot Galvin (@elliotgalvin) on the piano and modular synth, with Dave Okumu joining the stage for some of the set to play the guitar. Playing songs from Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace, Shabaka played woodwind instruments from all across the globe: the Japanese shakuhachi, a Native American flute, a Bulgarian tilinko and various others. The audience sat in peaceful silence and awe as Shabaka displayed incredible breath control on his instruments. His use of circular breathing whilst playing stunned most of the audience to silence, and showcased Hutchings’ discipline and commitment to his craft.

Shabaka Hutchings Barbican. Photo by Mark Allan.

Shabaka, Alina, Miriam, Hinaki and Elliot created beautiful, immersive soundscapes: the music felt deeply reflective as well as in search of transcendence. It is not an overstatement to say that songs like Insecurities and Songs of the Motherland provoke introspection. Shabaka Hutchings’ new-age sounds, jazz instrumentations and calming compositions could lull you peacefully to sleep, invite you to introspection or provoke you to do things differently – to start afresh. Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eska joined Shabaka on stage to perform Living. Her vocals were in beautiful conversation with Shabaka’s flute and created a bittersweet soundscape “for grieving the living”. Shabaka’s set felt like something out of folklore; it felt like we were transported into the spiritual realm where time did not exist. If you closed your eyes, you could imagine yourself standing at the shore looking onto the vast ocean, strolling through the forest on a sunny day, or even pausing at the top of a mountain to take in the rolling landscape.

Audiences who have grown accustomed to Shabaka’s previous musical offerings might not be used to closing their eyes and losing themselves in stillness at a Shabaka concert, but it is a refreshing and transformative thing to experience. Closing the set with Songs of the Motherland, Shabaka and band’s moving instrumentation made the air feel heavy with mourning, with love, with acceptance of what was, what is and what will be. I was not the only person in the audience moved to tears. Whilst this may sound like a melancholy experience, it wasn’t at all. Throughout the performance, Shabaka, Alina, Miriam, Hinaki, Elliot, Eska and Dave frequently smiled at one another, clearly enjoying being on stage and performing these songs together. Witnessing this live performance was truly cathartic. At the end of the set, Shabaka spoke of what a blessing it has been to be a beginner and humble himself to a new practice. As I exited the Barbican Concert Hall and made my way out into the cool springtime evening breeze, I couldn’t help but reflect on what a blessing it can be to humble myself to letting go of preconceptions and starting again. Shabaka’s concert provided us all with an opportunity to exhale, to lose and find ourselves in tranquil melodies and to exist – if only for an hour – in peace.

Words by Adwoa Owusu-Barnieh