Chapels and churches have housed some truly one off music experiences. The type of gigs where you walk away feeling as though you’ve been witness to a performance that could never be repeated ever again. The gothic setting of Saint John’s Church in Hackney was the perfect place for ethereal beauty Alison Goldfrapp and her deer-masked choir, wonderfully dressed violinists and golden harp to play a very special gig.



Alpines opened the Little Noise Session, in aid of Mencap and set the whimsical tone of the evening. The soulful and sensitive voice of beautiful sequin clad lead singer Catherine boomed around the church, stunning a somewhat chattery crowd into complete silence. They stormed through a powerful set of songs such as singles ‘Ice and Arrows’ and ‘Cocoon’ whose poetic lyrics suited the space perfectly. They left the crowd hungry for more, giving only an acoustic taste of the depth of their nouveau pop.



After a priest had blessed the stage by swinging about an incense burner, filling the church with frankincense scented smoke, Goldfrapp took to the stage. They had clearly taken the setting into account when deciding on their set, going for an acoustic rendition of their glitter soaked pop hits. Alison cast a spell of tranquillity over the crowd playing songs from their haunting debut ‘Felt Mountain’ scattered with those catchy pop songs they’re famed for such as ‘Ooh La La.’ The standout performance was when Alison, whose multifaceted voice which sounds doused in special effects (that’s just her, nothing added) broke into ‘Utopia’ hitting the high notes with a Doctor Who-Operatic wail. A perfect close to an epic gig.