By Rebecca Cook
April 14 2020, 10.25
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Acclaimed Streatham-based singer-songwriter Conrad Vingoe celebrated the release of his latest album during lockdown with a Facebook live stream at the end of last month.
A Quiet Convention was released on March 27 by the folk-pop troubadour, but the planned gig promotion became impossible amidst the escalating coronavirus pandemic.
Yet musicians such as Mr Vingoe are continuing to produce live music despite the closure of venues and the prohibition of public gatherings.
Streatham based artist Mr Vingoe said: “At an actual gig there’s a vibe between the audience and the performer.
“Whereas online, it’s a bit different because you can’t see the whites of their eyes.
“Loads of people logged on and it was nice because people comment and you have a little bit of conversation with everyone tuning in. It felt a bit more intimate in a way.”
Mr Vingoe said he enjoyed the experience so much he will likely do more live streams to include tracks from his previous albums.
He described the online gigs as a new phenomenon and noted how several of his musician friends are similarly making the most of the live performance capacity of social media.
Mr Vingoe said: “I think it’s going be a lot more common in the future and I think it has made people look at the way they view live music in a different way.”
Mr Vingoe’s previous album Tomorrow, then was released in 2015. He described how material he recorded in the meantime were cast aside along the way.
He said: “I didn’t see the point in putting out something that I wasn’t entirely happy with just for the sake of putting something out.”
When asked what his fans can look forward to in the future, Mr Vingoe said: “Some gigs that they can actually go to!”
He also plans to create music videos for tracks off the album as well as do the radio live sessions that were postponed due to the coronavirus.
He added: “There’ll also be another album, which should be a lot quicker than five years!”
Lockdown is presenting additional challenges for Mr Vingoe as his fiancé Angela is pregnant, and their baby is due at the end of May.
He noted how, much like his album release plans, the coronavirus outbreak has disturbed their arrangements for the birth.
When asked whether he will celebrate with another post-pandemic album release, Mr Vingoe said: “Absolutely. The CD hasn’t been released and I want that to be an actual gig, as I had envisaged it.
“After this pandemic, everyone is going to be stir crazy by then and it’ll just be such a relief.
“I think it’s actually going to be pretty special and people are going to be up for a party.”
