Island Records' Aquilo and Whilk & Misky Take Over Native HQ

At Native HQ we have just about recovered from last week’s Island Records Takeover. What a night.

Last Thursday we were honoured to welcome both Aquilo and Whilk & Misky into our home, Jungle Studios. It was a fantastic turnout and people arrived early in anticipation. Drinks and sushi were on tap.

Aquilo were up first, and what a way to warm up the crowd. Aquilo are a musical duo from Silverdale, Lancashire: Tom Hingham and Ben Fletcher. We had the chance to speak to the guys before their performance and asked for them to describe their sound. They put it simply, ‘we’re two northern lads who write sad songs’. 

Arriving fresh faced and with an incredibly clear musical aesthetic, Tom’s angelic lead vocals soar and when Ben joins in, their harmonies are hypnotising. You could hear a pin drop when the opening of 2014 single 'Losing You’ played out - definitely a personal favourite of ours.

If you are a fan of SOHN, London Grammar, old-school Blue Nile or any other band in the ‘mellow’ category, you will love Aquilo.

Second up were London duo Whilk & Misky. Nima and Charlie - AKA Whilk & Misky - have been quietly working on their sound for the past two years, and their love for both soul and electronica makes for an almost totally unique, intelligent sound. 

Charlie’s growling vocals (and devilish good-looks ;) had the crowd transfixed, and they couldn’t help but move their feet when Spanish-influenced, upbeat number ‘Clap Your Hands’ was played. Whilk & Misky delivered a hugely exciting, energy-filled performance that set us up beautifully for our move onto the roof terrace to continue the party.

Jungle’s very own resident DJ’s Joe Skinner, Jim Griffin and Stuart Allen-Hynd took over from here and kept the party vibe-ing with the perfect mix of Reggae sounds and House beats until the early hours.  

Thanks so much to all who came along, and a huge thank you to Island Records for helping to make it happen. We can’t wait until the next!