In her first piece for #itchysilk Amber Preen reviews the scintillating afro-centric outfit, Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC)

Visiting the iconic Barbican in London, for Abel Selaocoe and friends Mohopolo, was an absolute treat. BCUC, delivered a performance that felt less like a concert and more like a shared experience of something deeper. I left feeling mesmerised from the whole experience and genuinely blessed to have witnessed it.

Firstly, setting the scene, was Toya Delazy and her crew. Toya brought her fierce energy and hard beats, with grace and intelligence that radiated from the stage. Setting the venue alight and raising the stakes early in the night. For a moment, it felt like a difficult act to follow.

Physically, BCUC’s performance was just as powerful as their music. The intensity of movement felt inseparable from the beats,

Then BCUC entered the room …….. They didn’t just match the intensity – they transformed the space entirely. Driven by heavy, insistent drums with hypnotic vocals, and long evolving build-ups, their sound moved fluidly with complete control. The connection between the members was like witnessing a joining of minds and bodies, drawing the crowd to a place of enchantment.
The crowd responded instinctively – fully engaged, with most people rising to their feet and dancing, feeding back their energy into the performance. It felt less like a traditional concert and more like a collective encounter unfolding in real time. We shared a refreshing communal experience.

There was a nod to Vera Hall’s Trouble So Hard (1937) – a track many will recognise through the Moby sample. Progressing deeper into the show, we were taken into bass-heavy rhythms that echoed sounds of early Drum and Bass and Jungle, without losing their core sound.

Physically, BCUC’s performance was just as powerful as their music. The intensity of movement felt inseparable from the beats, each gesture feeding directly into the sound and reinforcing the sense that their performance was as much a physical expression as a musical one.

BCUC lit up the Barbican and created an experience that lingered long after the final beat. Music is the universal language!