One Eskimo in Jacksonville

Friday, 21 May 2010 13:45

One Eskimo recently toured through Florida, including a show at Freebird Live in Jacksonville opening for Michael Franti and Spearhead. They only have one full-length album out. I had heard some of One Eskimo's songs and was curious to hear the band live, so I had to go.

Story and Photos by John Davisson

One Eskimo is a fairly new band, with a lush pop sound that is soulful yet modern. Although only a four-piece, the sound is full with electronic textures and effects modernizing the acoustic instrumentation. Singer and songwriter Kristian Leontiou (who already had a solo hit in the UK) formed the band with drummer Adam Falkner, bassist Jamie Sefton and guitarist Peter Rinaldi in search of a new sound.

After recording the album, the band connected with a small animation studio to create a visual presentation for some of the music, according to the band’s website. They created animated shorts for the songs Kandi and Hometime. Hometime became a hit at film festivals and was also later featured in Toyota's environmentally-aware "Why Not?" campaign. The success of Hometime enabled the band to create an animated story about an eskimo, a giraffe, a monkey and a penguin for the entire album. Kandi is the latest hit.

Onstage, the band played acoustically. With enough processing to make the sound fuller, it sounded electric, but without the bleeps and bloops of most electronic music. The sound was soulful, not plastic.

There was no animation, but the band’s performance was animated enough. As the latest soul export from the UK, it seemed strange that they would open for a jam band. But the audience received them well. I hope they return to Florida as a headliner soon, although they might need more material.