Brighton’s outfit Yonaka make an appearance at The Borderline in London.

As festival season is about to come to an end, it’s this time of the year when we get to discover what UK music scene has to offer this coming Autumn.

With only a couple of singles in their catalogue, Yonaka have already built a reputation of being a highly charismatic and excellent live act. Showcasing ferociousness and unique stage dynamism, they easily translate the concoction of their dark alt pop into the live format, and last week’s show was no different. We caught the Brighton’s lot topping up the bill at newly redesigned The Borderline where they delivered a truly exquisite performance.

Intertwining some of their older tracks with new offerings, Yonaka made sure there would be something for dedicated fans as well as the new audience. Songs such as Drongo and Ignorance brought back the explosive energy built upon heavy riffs and intensifying suspense of singer Theresa’s powerful vocal delivery, whilst newer material has only developed this tendency. Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya and Honey Killer (played for the first time) masterfully displayed the progression of their soundscape, lead by more confident fluid variety and precision in both the instrumental and lyrical spectre.

Yonaka possess quite an outstanding and magnetic stage presence, humble all throughout but self-aware, they focus on serving a high-quality performance. What’s more, they surely have found a susceptible ground to connect with their audience, even if it includes a lot of glitter as in this case. Loads of it, actually. They also infuse a slightly theatrical aspect to their movement on stage, which clearly works in favour for the whole visual aesthetics.

Bubblegum, their next single, rounded off the set which definitely fell too short. With a thrilling blend of alp pop with darker tinge and clearly a broad potential, Yonaka are one of the most exciting new artists we have seen recently. After all, they’re just getting started.

Photos: Kasia Osowiecka