Review: All Points East – Jorja Smith + Tems
REVIEW – All Points East – Jorja Smith + Tems The energy was high the entire time. [2027 Sign Up Link] Words by Niamh Hughes Header Image by Bethan Miller-Carey 12 September 2026 Every year, All Points East comes around to give Londoners one final hit of live music before summer draws to a close. This summer was my first time attending. I’d been warned of Victoria Park’s dust, and received a few remarks about the sound quality, so if I am going to start on a brutally honest note, my expectations were low. While the dust bowl warnings were certainly needed, Jorja Smith and Tems’ opening day of the festival delivered far above and beyond my expectations, my cynicism was shattered and I was left wondering how on earth I could sum up this line-up in a way that does it justice. The Friday was curated by Jorja Smith and her FAMM label, bringing together R&B, Afrobeats, amapiano, soul, hip-hop and some of the UK’s most recognisable dance sounds. Across the park, established names sat alongside artists who deserve more recognition, creating a day that felt like equal parts nostalgia and discovery. This was a strange but welcome collision for me. Hearing songs I remember playing through my headphones on the way to secondary school or that I was desperate to see at Reading Festival post-GCSEs alongside artists I listen to now, or who I have eagerly been keeping an eye out for tickets. Bethan Miller-Carey First up was ENNY on the X Stage. Having broken through with ‘Peng Black Girls’ in 2020 (which you might know through the version featuring Jorja Smith), before earning a BBC Sound of 2022 nomination and a global audience through her COLORS performance, she is hardly an unknown new star. Yet watching her live, I was left wondering why she still feels like such an underrated presence in the industry. I’ve caught ENNY before through her work with the Silhouettes Project and alongside artists such as Nix Northwest, and she has consistently been someone I think needs more recognition. There is a confidence to her performance that feels completely natural, rather than manufactured for the festival setting. Her lyrics are also the embodiment of underground UK Rap for me, honest, conscious and most importantly, clever. Over on the West Stage, Katy B then offered a very different kind of nostalgia. Her set was packed with the songs that have become embedded in British dance music culture, and she attacked them with the energy of someone who knows exactly how much they mean to the crowd. It was an early reminder that this wasn’t simply a showcase of what is new, Jorja had built a line-up around the music that had shaped her (further explanation later on) and much of it had shaped us too. Next came the unavoidable festival dilemma: two new artists I wanted to see, playing at almost exactly the same time. Between 5 and 5:30pm, I made the decision to split my time between Tyler Lewis on the E3 Stage and Demae on the Rising Stage. It was frustrating knowing I couldn’t give either set the attention it deserved, but both felt like names worth keeping an eye on. Tyler Lewis has this huge voice, combining classic R&B with more eclectic production and what I think is fair to call an obvious pop ambition. There was something so distinctly ’90s in her vocal delivery, think Mariah Carey and think Whitney Houston. Her sound also brought Mahalia to mind for me. Either way, it’s an impressive combination, and she’s someone that feels capable of reaching well beyond the festival circuit. Demae, who’s also signed with FAMM, meanwhile brought together R&B, hip-hop, jazz and soul with an effortless stage presence. I’d actually been following her music for years without realising it was the same artist. After a little research, I found out that her SoundCloud alias Bubblerap had introduced me to covers and demos before I ever connected the music to Demae herself. If I were to use one word to describe her, it’s cool. And one song to listen to, which we had the pleasure of hearing before its release ‘Steppers’. Tems by Bethan Miller-Carey Then came the first headline act, Tems, who naturally brought a completely different energy to the day. From the moment she stepped on stage, there was a calmness to her performance that seemed to pull the entire field towards her, particularly by opening with ‘WAIT FOR U’. That tranquillity didn’t last long though. Just as everyone had settled into the rhythm of the whole performance, Dave appeared on stage for his feature on ‘Raindance’, which as expected sent a roar through Victoria Park. Her set moved between older favourites and newer material, including ‘Higher’ from her 2020 debut EP For Broken Ears, Wizkid collaboration ‘Essence’ and her latest single ‘What You Need’. Across the 40-minute set, Tems moved effortlessly between R&B, Afrobeats, and neo-soul, with that vocal style that remains unmistakably her own. My personal highlight had to be Nia Archives. Who took over the West Stage and definitely changed the pace. I’ve caught her sets several times over the years, and with her newer material from Emotional Junglist, I wondered whether the show could really match the standard she set with Silence is Loud. It did. Nia Archives by Khali Ackford © Watching this set, the production of it and the performance, makes it clear Nia had written this album with a live performance in mind. While her past DJ sets, or at least he ones I saw, always comprised of an old-school soundsystem and live vocals over traditional turntablism, watching her at all Points East felt like a true performance. With each track, whether new material or old, the entire crowd moved as one as she jumped on a sofa or danced around stage. The thing about Nia Archives is that while her music is at its core dance music, it is also deeply
Album Review: ‘Decoding Birdsong’ – Antony Szmierek
Album Review: ‘Decoding Birdsong’ – Antony Szmierek A masterclass in vulnerability and rhythm that invites you to cry, dance, and live a little louder By Nat Kossyvaki 12 September 2026 Just eighteen months after his critically acclaimed debut album Service Station at the End of the Universe, the poet, spoken-word artist and producer from Manchester returns with a radically vulnerable piece of work that signals a new era for UK dance music. Released on 21st August, Decoding Birdsong is an album about luck and loneliness, hope and choosing to believe in something – whatever that is. Or as Antony humbly describes it: “It’s a bit of poetry, bit of alternative music and a bit of dance music. Equally suited to the pres, the durings and afters.” Including an eclectic lineup of collaborators such as Pretty Girl, Imogen and the Knife and 1-800 GIRLS, and paired with Antony’s audaciously hopeful poetry, the album challenges you to ask yourself the questions that are most difficult: Is there a meaning in everything, or is there any meaning at all? What happens if I fail? Am I living the way I want to be living? Across 13 songs and 46 minutes, you’re invited on a journey into the deeper parts of yourself you’re too scared to touch. The music is spacious, nostalgic and empowering. The lyrics are sharp, vulnerable, and Antony’s poetry feels effortless. In the verses, you’ll be drawn into endless metaphors and existential explorations, whilst the choruses will lift you up with hope with a simple sentence like “You’ll never be alone again, my love” or “Find something you love and get lost all in it”. A masterful strength of this record is that it allows space for the listener to project their own realities and make their own meanings. But yet, you don’t need to fully understand the meaning behind everything – you just need to listen. Each song hits you in your feels and creates a liberating need to dance. It pushes you to move, to see more clearly, to want to hug your friends, to cry a little, to live more loudly. ‘Chalk’ sets the scene. It’s restless and enigmatic, almost provocative, interrogating luck and control in an infectious electro-dance beat – a defining album opener. https://youtu.be/TkTRa6a2zQI?si=eRYk_3eMXSg37Nwd Moving in a disco-themed nostalgia, ‘The Heron’ speaks about patience, self-belief and being present. ‘Bookie’s Favourite’ feels dark, vulnerable and exposed, paired with melodic synths and Ellur’s haunting vocals. ‘Seminal’ is for dancing. The kind where you’re alone in a room and moving like nobody’s watching, while screaming “oh my god it’s hysterical just how lonely you feel!”. Bold and deeply poetic. ‘Flight Simulator’ is a turbulent yet euphoric journey through life. No one really knows how to navigate life or love or loss or fate. You may fly so high and touch the sun, and then suddenly crash. Do you take the risk and try your luck? Or wait for that sign and lean into it to guide you? https://youtu.be/bPq-zhiC3aw?si=1As8eZ5ezrX31VVm When you get to ‘The First Five Minutes of Magnolia’, that spontaneous head movement starts. Punchy electric guitars take over and Pretty Girl’s smooth vocals navigate the beat, while Antony muses on loneliness, coincidence and his favourite film. ‘Commune’ talks about love, while ‘You’re Not Supposed to Do This Forever’ wrestles with fate and existence – reminding you that everything ends at some point, and that’s okay. At ‘Aussie Gold Hunters’, you reach your epiphany and may relate to some of the lyrics a bit more than you expected. By the time you hear the last piano notes, you know you’ve reached the end of a beautiful self-exploratory journey. You may need a minute to take it all in before you get back to your day – just like when you’re not quite ready to leave your seat after watching a great film at the cinema. Decoding Birdsong is a simply beautiful record. You Might Also Like Recent Posts