Beckah Amani & Tyla Jane
Review by Emma Newbury.
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November 20th 2021, Saturday night at Studio 188 in Ipswich was filled with the sound of female prodigies Beckah Amani and Tyla Jane playing as part of the Live! At The Baptist series. With Becky hailing from the Gold Coast and Tyla from Brisbane, both showed a keen interest tin being able to expand their musical talents tot the wider Brissy area, and some of their most eager supports made it out to the Ipswich venue for a night of both intimacy and a bit of a boogie.
Beckah Amani, a solo singer dabbing in soul and bordering in indie folk got the night started with a number of her original pieces as well as a few popular covers. I was particularly impressed with her rendition of Halo by Beyonce which she made her own, as not every artist can take a hit by Queen B herself and make it a Beckah Amani song.
The use of the spotted lighting made it feel like we were having a romantic night staring out ar the starry sky while being serenaded by Beckah, while the venue around faded away as the crowd was immersed in the sweet falsetto that poured from the young artist’s songs. Triple J described Beckah’s voice as displaying power yet fragility which cannot be a more accurate remark, as the singer knows exactly when and how two strike your heart with her voice.
Beckah’s songs are mainly acoustics, stripped back to pay attention to the deeper narrative, as most of her discography addresses personal and hard subjects, such as missing a loved one on Breathe, or the transition from having someone as your whole world to no longer in it on Stranger. My personal favourite track of Beckah’s is Standards, a song she wrote during the Black Lives Matter protests last year where she sings about her experience growing up as a woman of colour and the struggles of growing up with a lingering cloud of racism, however with growth comes the power of self-reflection and inner beauty. The song is a celebration of black beauty and a declaration that this beauty will not be silenced.
Beckah’s talent is clear to anyone who has heard her music, and it’s easy to see why she snagged Emerging Artist of the Year at this year’s Queensland Music Awards. Beckah finished her set with Standards and accepted her audience’s approval with a humble smile, then beckoning for her fellow artist Tyla Jane to take the stage.
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Tyla came u with a confidence that presented so strong that it radiated through her and into the crowd, making us all feel so comfortable in her presence. Tyla manages her skills well, being TikTok queen, singer and full-time relatable girl - think Emma Chamberlain but with a tremendous voice. She blend these skills well by doing a lot of her own song marketing via her TikTok page bathing 1.6million likes (no biggie). Tyla and her accompaniment Natalie had a very well organised and constantlyengaing set, which also featured a number of covers such as Disco man by Remi Wold, Teenage Dirtbag, and Hey Stephen that were well-received by the crowd.
Tyla’s style of music is a mixture of R&B and indie pop that sounds a lot like a lovechild of Ella Mai, Ariana Grande and The 1975. Her songs have a strong feminine energy to them, especially on her latest track energy where she sing-manifests a life she is bringing into reality; growing into the person you want to be, by “working on your energy”. This song seems to be quite the hit with over 5 million listens, and a rightfully so as a lot of people have commented on its motivational qualities.
My personal favourite that Tyla started the night with is My Oh My, the kind of song you listen to on repeat when you have an exciting new crush, and also it’s just so gosh darn catchy. The fast-paced synth and chopped vocals filtered through crystal clear production making it easy to see why this song placed on Unearth’s Top 100 for 2020. Tyla danced out the night with other originals such as the unreleased Volcano highlighting the ignition of a passion-fulled relationship that will eventually blow up; and 20-Something with the same vibe as the SZA song, talking about how no one knows what they’re really doing in their 20s.
Time flies when you’re having fun, and the gig ended with us wishing we could boogie for longer. The facade faded and we were transported out of the musical spotlight and back into Studio 188’s colour-lit space. I had the pleasure of meeting Beckah after the show who was selling her signature tote bags, and she was a ray of sunshine in human form, and although I missed Tyla, Beckah boasted that Tyla was equally lovely.
Overall, the night was a lovely introduction for Ipswich locals and travellers from Brisbane of two of the scenes emerging talents, an impressive showcase with a yearning celebration of some of the topics that make us most human. Pretty fitting that the Beckah/Tyla gig was held in the Old Baptist Burch, as what we heard that night was truly gospel.
SOURCES:
https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/beckah-amani-powderfinger-the-
avalanches-new-music/12678480
https://www.abc.net.au/triplejunearthed/artist/beckah-amani/
https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/program-unearthed/beckah-amani-wins-emerging-artist-of-
the-year-qma-2021/13332518
https://turtletempo.co.uk/new-music-tyla-jane-my-oh-my/
https://www.qpac.com.au/past-events/green_jam_tyla_jane_holiday_party/
