Despite the freezing cold on this January Thursday, it didn’t discourage several people from attending Floric Kim’s long-awaited concert. You’ve probably heard of him from his interview on MUZ, but seeing him on stage for a full show was a first for me.
Surrounded by renowned musicians from Montreal’s artistic scene and Damaris, a promising backup singer and guitarist, Floric Kim takes the stage like a star. His clothing makes as much of an impression as his powerful voice. Dressed in jeans from head to toe, stylish bell-bottoms, and a denim vest with rings, this young artist and designer was able to do both that evening: wear his own clothing brand and deliver a show worthy of the name.
From the very first song, he sets the room alight, while in Freedom, he brings out his blues and soul side. He is fluent in French, English, and Kikongo, sometimes mixing several languages in the same song.
He reveals not only his talents as a singer, but also as a dancer on some of the more upbeat tracks, and as a storyteller. On the track Suzana, which is a tribute to his sister and in which he denounces sexual abuse, he switches from singing the chorus to storytelling, immersing us in both worlds. Watson Joseph’s bass, Dav’s guitar playing, Steven Mapou’s piano, and Raphaël Ojo’s drums allowed him to move from one to the other quite naturally.
Hendry Massamba couldn’t not take part in this concert. Indeed, you rarely see one without the other. So he played percussion in the second half of the concert, before swapping places with Raphaël for the last song of the evening.
Speaking of the second part, Floric’s outfit was even more spectacular than the first. This time, he appeared on stage wearing an outfit to which he had attached several Barbie dolls. And this is entirely representative of the character: using everyday objects and integrating them into fabrics to turn them into works of art.
That said, one person almost stole the show that evening: a young dancer of Haitian origin named Dashny, who had mastered African dance moves to perfection. “Are you sure you’re Haitian? I was told that Haitians were more like lovers with their kompa,” Floric said to the young man. A few minutes later, he invited Dashny back on stage, this time to improvise to his hit Mama Pray For Me, and he blew us away.
That’s kind of how Floric is too. He calls himself the Nkundilisateur and seems to enjoy promoting other artists, whether it’s inviting Veeby or LYDOL to improvise some singing or dancing, or calling on dancers from the Nyata Nyata school to come and give a few demonstrations on the dance floor. This adds several minutes to his tracks without ever getting boring.
Floric took several dips into the crowd during his show, sometimes joined by audience members who wanted to let loose that night. This was particularly the case during his hit song Million, another highlight of the evening.
In the end, the -17 degree weather may have discouraged many people from coming to see this artist at the height of his career, but those who did attend clearly enjoyed themselves.
