After grabbing a couple of cool-down ciders from the bar followed by an awesome warm up from Koolism, Space Invadas graced the stage at The Toff with their usual Star Wars masks to entertain an at-capacity crowd and launch their new album Soul:Fi. Whilst the reverb was possibly set a little high, the room was filled with their lounge and soul sound tinged with that hip-hop flavour, and it was easy to forgive minor mixing misdemeanours. Steve Spacek has such an amazing voice; it’s perfect for this kind of performance. Space Invadas have found the perfect harmony of guitar with veteran Katalyst’s turntables, plus drums and smooth vocals, presenting a unique sound that appeals to a broad audience.

With Koolism and Space Invadas on the line up, I half expected Tricky to grace the stage: there was definitely that kind of beat to the evening. Space Invadas played a few tracks from Soul:Fi including Done It Again and Original. There was a guest performance from the beautiful Jade McRae singing Life and a knock-out version of The Fugees’ Ready or Not (which features Dank on the album). McRae’s voice blended perfectly with Spacek’s to create an interesting pop-soul mix. She fit right in on the stage. After another female guest vocalist, Fantine singing Super Sweet we were treated to more tracks – including Imaginist – which Spacek noted as a result of the falsetto, it would be “f**king hard to sing this one”. We were even treated to a special untitled track that hadn’t made it to the album, yet was too good just to leave in the jam session.

It was amazing to see the whole dance-floor moving as one. At previous gigs at The Toff, though a great venue for live acts, some audiences have a tendency to just stand and watch. But not this one! Everyone was getting into it. I’m not ordinarily a massive fan of soul but after hearing Space Invadas, I’ve been really impressed with the way Steve Spacek and Katalyst work together to co-front the band and create a really accessible sound. If you’re a fan of soul, hip-hip or anything in that direction, this album is definitely one to check out.