Sarah Kinsley + Yndling at KOKO, London: live review and photo galleries

Sarah Kinsley at KOKO felt big without losing the small, personal feeling that makes so many people connect with her songs in the first place. The London stop of The Fleeting Tour was full of huge cinematic pop moments, but what stayed with me most was how close it all felt with a room full of people singing along to songs that clearly meant a lot to them.

Her songs are carefully built with layers of synths, guitars, vocals and effects, which translated so well to live. KOKO is a dramatic venue, with its balconies, red glow and old theatre feeling, and the room suited her, for sure. On stage she was jumping, dancing, floating and in every corner of the room there was a group of friends singing back to her.

Between and before songs, there was some beautiful sound design that tied everything together. During these interludes there was quiet in the audience, until everyone clocked what song it was and started cheering. ‘The King’ was definitely a fan favourite, and the crowd were giving it everything.

For the slower songs, the lights came down and the spotlight focused on her on the keys. These moments let everyone breathe and focus on the lyricsm, and the shows highs and lows were very well balanced.

Support came from Yndling, the project of Norwegian artist and producer Silje Espevik. Her set was very well suited as an opener, as her music similarly explores ethereal synth sound design, and reverb-heavy guitars, but created a softer space, before Sarah Kinsley’s expansive sound. In a big space like that, Yndling’s set was mesmerising.

By the end, the show felt like a good match between artist, venue and audience. Yndling set the room up with something hazier and more inward, and Sarah Kinsley turned that into something brighter.