Studio 7 and Jimmy Nevis: a match made in musical heaven

I feel as if I have been living under a rock, on mars, whilst blindfolded and gagged… that’s how disappointed I am that until this week, I didn’t know about the Studio 7 concert venue in Seapoint. At least, ‘concert venue’ is what appears at the top of the Studio 7 Facebook page as the one-liner description.

But as an avid concert-hater, I have to say that this place couldn’t be further removed from my definition of a concert. Concerts are loud, overcrowded, incredibly expensive, uncomfortable and the audio quality is mostly as appealing as a pig snorting.

Studio 7 is the antithesis of all of that. The venue really is “intimate and exclusive”, as promised. At the Jimmy Nevis unplugged performance I attended last night, only 49 other people shared the experience with me, and it is this exclusivity that makes it really special.

Back to the very definition of unplugged music, a music reviewer by the name of Craig Conley summed it up perfectly: “When music is labelled acoustic, unplugged, or unwired, the assumption seems to be that other types of music are cluttered by technology and overproduction and therefore aren’t as pure.”

And without the distraction of screaming fans, instruments that drown out the singer’s voice, unpredictable weather that also negatively affects the voice of any singer or ostentatious dancers / set design, Studio 7 makes it easy for the artist to just “be”, and for you to literally just sit back and enjoy.

At Jimmy’s session last night, the audio quality was absolutely crystal clear, allowing everyone to really take in how powerful his vocals are. I don’t think the guy missed a single note, despite throwing in a few covers and doing a few very creative takes on the tracks from his album, Subliminal. Three back-up singers, a guitar-player and Jimmy occasionally making use of the keyboard and a big, blue tambourine, were the only ‘extras’ required to bring his music to life.

Going back to the setting, Studio 7 is actually a house (a nice one, it must be said), with large, puffy couches and a few quaint wooden benches rearranged closely around the performance area. For those who arrive a bit later and have perhaps struggled to manoeuvre their vehicles into the constricted Seapoint streets that surround the venue, a few scatter cushions on the floor is where they will sit – but it is exactly this impression of chilling in your own living room that makes you feel so relaxed. The mood lighting is spot-on, and while there wasn’t an indoor fireplace crackling away in the corner of the room, it genuinely felt as if there could have been...

The few speakers that are necessary in such a small space are also thoughtfully arranged. You won’t miss a single detail in the reproduction of the audio, and you also won’t go home with your ears zinging uncontrollably. 

Thank you, Studio 7 and Jimmy Nevis for an unforgettable evening. I will definitely be back to experience real music in the kind of setting and space it deserves.

Some useful links:

Studio 7 on Twitter: @Studio7_SA

Studio 7 Website

Studio 7 Facebook page

Jimmy Nevis on Twitter: @JimmyNevis

Jimmy Nevis Facebook page