Ganou @ The Art Sanctuary.
Text by Lissa Alicia. Images by Luong Huynh.
Sometime after the advertised start time of her album release show, Ganou shuffled around barefoot, arranging and rearranging production equipment on a makeshift stage that was put together only a few minutes prior. Once settled, the French-born songstress played a few of her ambient beats to a crowd of about fifty-something at the Art Sanctuary on the corner of 16th and Bainbridge streets.
Fifteen minutes later, Ganou interrupted the banter of the crowd with an apology for the late start and offered a large, toothy grin that was more luminous than the stringed holiday lights that lined the molding of the gallery.
The audience, which had since tripled in size, erupted in cheers after Ganou brought her occasional co-producer Kenneth Sullivan to the stage. While Sullivan rapped over hard hitting 808’s and snares, a bouncing Ganou backed the tracks with her signature airy vocals. A few songs in, the tempo picked up and became more upbeat compared to the softer sounds that began the show. The crowd vibed with the change of pace. Audience members danced and screamed back lyrics of both the performers.
After her last track with Sullivan, Ganou said in a sultry tone, “If you give me one more second, I’ll be ready,”
She brought the audience members back to a chill vibe, thus preparing them for her mellow solo performance. Throughout her set, Ganou effortlessly went between serenading her fans with her ethereal voice and pumping out live, hip-hop-inspired beats, like what can be found on her new album, Catharsis.
The audience, which grew to fill the entire space, responded with approving head bobs to Ganou’s cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya.” Peppered throughout her performance, the singer showed off her vocal range by belting out one liners and still remained true to her Neo-Lounge sound.
After a few more songs, one of which she rapped a verse, the singer gave shout-outs to and thank yous to a handful of audience members. Ganou ended the her show with an unreleased track, garnered by spectator encores.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
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