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Sunday 21st of May
Substance at the Spice of Life
Featuring – Laura Fell + Aly Rowell + Bella Cloud + Rebecca Sykes
The Spice of Life is a Soho landmark, historic music venue and is in the heart of London's West End.
Renowned for having a great live sound The Spice of Life and Substance have worked together for over 18 years to bring the very best new music to the heart of the capital.
"One of the best little venues in London" Evening Standard
The Line up
Laura Fell
Following the success of her debut album 'Safe From Me' in 2020 on Balloon Machine Records, Fell took a 3-year hiatus from music before returning in 2024 with a trio of introspective songs on EP 'At Least I Tried,' an ethereal ode to heartbreak and an evocative journey through the theme of loss.
Making up for lost time, Fell also released another EP in May 2025 - ‘Talk It All Apart’ - where she navigates us through the various phases of romantic relationships; exploring the patterns that repeat themselves, the resulting frustration and confusion as to how to do it differently, and grappling with and striving to overcome barriers to intimacy and connection.
Her 2025 EP 'Talk It All Apart' marked a new sound for Fell, enlisting her friend - Berlin-based singer-songwriter and drummer Robert Kretzschmar (Anna Erhard, Albertine Sarges, Kat Frankie) - to produce the EP. resulting in something lighter and more playful than her previous releases - crunchy electric guitar, sparse bass and melodic synth lines reminiscent of Aldous Harding’s production - offering a juxtaposition to the depth and introspection of Fell’s lyrics.
Fell is currently working on her next release with Mercury-Prize winning producer Mike Lindsay (Tunng, LUMP, Speech Debelle, Anna B Savage) set to be released in 2026.
Fell’s talent for lyrical craftsmanship permeates every song; simultaneously forceful yet fragile, they invite listeners to delve beneath the surface to unearth the profound meanings within.
https://www.laurafellmusic.com/
Aly Rowell
Brown girl indie-folk
https://www.instagram.com/alyrowell
Bella Cloud
The Limerent, the debut EP of songwriter Bella Cloud, newly released in 2025 is a sonic exploration into the condition of limerence and the process of losing onself in the act of loving another. The arc of the EP loosely follows each stage of limerence-infatuation, crystallization, and deterioration. Beginning with the folk rock track Two Good Actors embodies pure want through its swooping viola and crunchy rootsy guitars. Lapse of The Truth brings listeners into the internal state and seeks to mirror the rounded cycles we find ourselves in through it's shoegazey guitar riffs and energetic beat. The third track You seeks to convey the distance and the unshakable feeling of being the footnote in the life of the person who fills chapters for you. Continuing with the penultimate and melancholic chamber pop ballad Littlest Death that reckons with the toll of limerance: the willingness to die at the one you love's hands as long as they are the one weilding the knife. Finally, ending with a quaint piano rendition of the opening track offering a reflective and new perspective. The songs were honed through a year of live performance with her band in San Diego culminating in the recording of the EP in the end of 2024 produced, mixed, and recorded by Andrew Walsh along with collaborators Rebecca Sykes, Spencer Dugan, and Diego Tidwell.
Her songs arrive through fruitful vessels such as open tunings, warm lamplight on a winter night, and are further elaborated through orchestral and standard band outfits. Bella Cloud hopes her music lands with audiences who enjoy folk rock, chamber pop, and indie rock.
With roots in San Diego, USA, and currently based in Melbourne/Naarm, Australia, Cloud is at heart a wanderer. Consequently, she is most often found in many places throughout the world when she is able: playing her songs to those with open ears, resting by a river, making cyanotype lyric prints, or off attempting to climb some mountain.
https://www.bella-cloud.com/
Rebecca Sykes
multi-instrumentalist • songwriter • producer
https://www.instagram.com/rebecca._.sykes
The Spice of Life is an over 18’s venue .ID will be required if you are asked.
http://www.spiceoflifesoho.com/
http://substancegigs.com/index.php
https://www.facebook.com/substance.gigs
A pub and music bar on the perimeter of Cambridge Circus, at the corner of Romilly Street and Moor Street. First licensed in 1686 as the George, the current building dates from 1898 and the current name from 1986. (One of the old names, Cantons, can be seen being held by one of the gargoyles on the top of the building).
Famous in the 1960s and 70s for folk music and then punk, latterly it has become a jazz venue and home to SpiceJazz club. Up to 5 real ales from the McMullen range on offer and free admission to the main bar but you may have to pay for some music gigs in the basement.
Upstairs at the Spice is for drinks, eats and good times. Enjoy Great British classics with special seasonal dishes prepared daily by our chefs.
6 Moor Street,
Soho,
City of Westminster,
Greater London,
England,
W1D 5NA.
020 7437 7013
Sorry, This Event is in the past!
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