FORTE: lead vocalist Daniel Coburn
Not heard of the band Forte? You will – and soon!
The band are made up as follows:
and Reece Bradbury: drums
The five piece band come from London and Brighton and call themselves FORTE. They came to Brighton for an intimate launch party of their single Goosebumps. The visit to the south coast followed a sold out show in London at the Nambucca.
The Pelirocco, Brighton’s very own Rock n Roll Hotel, was scheduled to host this new single launch performance
The guys took to the floor and proceeded to deliver what can only be described as an ear melting, blisteringly, talent laden good set:
9. Wack Jack
Hotel Pelirocco performance area.
The Pelirocco is a small venue, it looks like someones front room and the walls are covered with vinyl 45’s and picture sleeves. The sound was incredible and the guys who worked hard setting all of this up have to be congratulated. Also the lighting was really good and caught the atmosphere of this band who claim Edgar Allan Poe as an influence!
It was a thrill to be invited along to this show, FORTE are just setting out on the road and I was there! The show was pure quality. They are clearly talented musicians with song writing talents some new bands could only wish for. Here were Forte in a small setting, after a couple of songs I can guess that these guys will soon be on bigger stages. They have that quality about them now and its only a question of time. What I realised whilst listening to the band is how good they sound. Make no mistake they are original.
Clutching his iced drink Daniel proceeded to sing his heart out, digging deep and pulling out all the stops for us. He powered through his lines and words with grit, soul and an almost sorrowful feel when the song required it. He is a fascinating performer.
FORTE: Jesse James – guitar and vocals
Jesse and Harry provide the guitars and vocal work. They deliver a gutsy sound. Electrifying powerful. They know exactly what they are doing and do it well. Jesse bending over his guitar, his face vanishing under his hair. I had to move for fear of being impaled, or losing a camera lens, on the end of Jesse’s guitar as he threw himself and his guitar into the performance.
I was lucky to chat with Jesse and it became very clear that these guys mean business and have plans in place for the future. I saw some video work, a sneak peak from a forthcoming release filmed at the Nambucca gig, a large crowd having a great time and another slice of Forte perfection.
Adam on bass and vocals provided an exceptional, well rounded wall of bass goodness, due to the venue size volumes were not as loud as one would expect but the mix made sure we heard everything he did and Adam also took part on some of the vocal duties. Adam must be around 6 feet tall and with his guitar he must have felt slightly cramped!
FORTE: Harry and Reece
Sitting at the back working with Adam on the rhythm routines, and percussion was Reece. Reece did a great job, no drum amplification but we heard him! His fills and beats certainly grabbed my attention. He delivered slams and fills that met with the buzzing and lively guitars from Jesse and Harry.
FORTE: Dan, Adam and Jessie.
Goosebumps, the reason we were all there, is a damn fine slice of British Rock. There is no mistake of this tracks classic, and anthemic feel, and was wonderful to watch and listen to it being performed live. Watch the video…
Goosebumps is a song that could become a classic live song it just invites the audience to sing along. A slow build and intro and the song then blasts itself into life and is a perfect first single for FORTE. It is a radio friendly track and I understand the song has been played on a few radio stations including BBC Introducing.
As the set came to a close everyone pushed forward – a front room invasion if you like, seemingly led by Dirt Royal. Health and Safety regulations left the building briefly as copies of Goosebumps whizzed across the venue into the excited crowd of guests.
FORTE: Thank you!
A great night of live music, personalities and a rare chance to be at a special event. Thank you FORTE. Thank you for your time, conversation and a night of great music – you gave me goosebumps!
If you are lucky enough to be able to see these guys – DO IT! you wont regret it. Buy the new single and don’t forget “Life begins at Forte!”
The Venue: The Pelirocco Hotel, Brighton
I loved this this venue it created a great atmosphere. A fairly intimate venue so you can get up as close as you want, space allowing. The sound was actually pretty good. The lighting wasn’t bad! The light on the bands was pretty good, breaking away from the horrible pink/blue settings seen in other venues. Friendly bar staff and a good pint and selection of bottled beers.
FORTE: BBC Introducing
Words and Pictures: Ian Bourn/Media Works