Chelou, Sam Tompkins and Mont Jake showcased at the seventh intimate installment of Live At Tape

Acts at Live at Tape are often on a soulful, R&B tip – previous performances have come from Sam Sure, Elderbrook, Lola Cola, and Estée Blu – but are divided by a subtle but distinct set of influences. This was exemplified clearly on Tuesday for the night’s seventh installment, which saw Danish crooner and Island Records’ latest export Mont Jake joined by the moody blues of Chelou and youngster Sam Tompkins.

An early highlight was Chelou (pictured), who opened the night with his hushed blues track “Halfway to Nowhere”, which premiered here at Best Fit back in October.

The minimal percussion and single guitar matched the song’s lonely aesthetic as he sang with a quiet intensity: “I’m still halfway to nowhere / I’m still nothing today”. Indeed, this vibe lasted until the closing moments of “You’re So Good”, from last year’s Mothership EP, when he took the bluesy guitar riff alone and scuffed it with jagged clout.

It contrasted heavily to next act Sam Tompkins, a 19 year old whose confidence outweighed his years and whose poppy vocal trills are destined to melt hearts with some more direction and tighter backline.

Closing the night was Denmark’s Mont Jake. Much like Chelou, the producer and singer’s releases this year have been shrouded with enigma, with little information circulating about the artist. It was particularly rewarding, then, to see him in the flesh - if only for fifteen minutes. He has a Hayden Thorpe-esque melancholy and classiness to his voice, which soared from throat to falsetto faultlessly over the jazzy, hip-hop production of tracks like “This Goes On” and “Shadow”. His soul-tinged beats were so good even his DJ couldn’t hide an impressed smirk, as in his uplifting new cut “Daydreaming”.