Live Review: Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Banoffee

Banoffee is looking pretty serious deejaying up a mix of electro R&B, but Catherine The Great, who has brought some pretty magnificent examples of the art she's hoarded over the years for show and tell, is hard to resist. This exhibition fills our heads with visions of gilded rococo magnificence that leaves 21st century minimalism looking a little boring.

Looking a little shy, Jaakko Eino Kalevi surprises the small crowd gathered to see him tonight with his signature synthpop sound. His friends from Helsinki remind us that this is probably the first time he has toured to places so far from home. Clearly, the self-titled album Kalevi released earlier this year has seen him attract fans from around the world as they discover back catalogue that reaches back to the early 2000s. Reviving the '80s tradition of the hyperactive one finger monosynth solo on a funky Yamaha CS-5, Kalevi deals solos of glittering bubbles of analogue synth sound. Tonight he's supported by a drummer — not a drum machine — and for a few tunes they are joined by a saxophone player who gets stuck into some wild solos. Much like Sebastien Tellier, Kalevi sets listeners adrift on his own idiosyncratic electronic pop explorations that have dreamy cosmic and repetitive Kosmische undercurrents. Rippling synths wrap themselves around us to feel good effect. The vibe tends towards delivering soft and fuzzy moments; Kaveli seems a little tentative when he sings. Moments of Deeper Shadows wash over like a long lost Depeche Mode. There's a Bowie or John Maus-esque gravel to Kaveli's voice on Memories but as you feel that he's starting to get serious Kalevi unleashes a sweetly graceful disco falsetto that takes us deeper into his musical fantasies. The mix lacks the detail and subtlety of what Kalevi engineers on record but he charms the crowd who get down to the pop grooves. Flexible Heart weirdly suggests the influence of A-ha but in more instrumental moments he treads Black Devil Disco Club territory. Amped up versions of Double Talk and Room raises the energy in the room as the evening comes to an end.