Belakiss live @ "West Rocks" in Shepherd's bush

Belakiss are an edgy experimental rock band from north west London that I've been listening to for a while now. When I heard they were playing a club night just down the road in Shepherd's Bush I jumped at the chance to go see them perform live.  It was a great opportunity not only to listen to their set but also hear what they've been up to for the last two years since I saw them last.

They've had a distracting few months with a number of line up changes in the band (they lost previous guitarist Harry Appleby and have recently taken on new drummer Mark Wyss) but they're finally back on solid ground returning to the live gigging scene.

They have a very unique line up which consists of two front men, Ruari Meehan and Benjamin Sheldrick, who are supported by the harmonised vocal backings of bassist Tatia Starkey. Songwriting duties are largely shared between Rurari and Ben with Tatia also adding her influence into the music arrangement and compositions. While their sound harks back to experimental 70s rock their trilogy of unique styles really comes together well to form a forward thinking yet enjoyable listening experience.

Benjamin Sheldrick (left) Tatia Starkey (center) Rurari Meehan (right) and Mark Wyss (below)

Recently the band have gone back into songwriting mode and are currently workshopping a number of new tracks to be released. You can grab a sneak peak of their recent demo "Run Red" which is available on their Myspace page and Website. Their next scheduled performance is the 11th of September at the Wilmington Arms in London so add yourself to the band's Facebook group page so you can stay posted.

Check out the video below of Belakiss performing live last night!




Post, pictures and video by StereoDan