“The word apocalypse means to uncover,” says Soweto Kinch “I hope this performance gives us release and relief”. It’s a bold vision that he articulates to the audience of the Barbican, standing in front of the London Symphony Orchestra, the other members of his quartet and vocalist Francis Mott. But ambition is something that goes with the territory for the saxophonist/composer/vocalist/rapper/poet, and so we launch into ‘Coming Together’ as the quartet sets the tone and the orchestra drops in symphonic punctuation.

If the opening chart was a warm-up to draw the audience in, the second piece ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ starts to flex the muscles that will be on show throughout this evening’s workout. With Soweto moving to EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), Francis Mott has joined him centre stage to contribute modulated vocals that caution listeners to “keep your eyes wide”. Meanwhile, the visual effects department are also out in force, projecting apocalyptic visuals featuring fire, robots and overlaying lyrics from Soweto’s rapped sections. In ‘Justice’ Soweto’s compositional elements are beautifully integrated: the LSO (under the baton of Ben Palmer) deliver ominous brass before he raps “silence the fanfare” and church bells ring ahead of the line “Lord, restore justice”. These are some of the most intuitive pieces where the punch of the lyric is matched by the punch of the orchestra.

For all the tension that is built across the first half of the concert, there are various moments of release in the second. Ahead of ‘The End of the World’ (an orchestral work in two movements), Soweto concedes that while it’s not so easy to “get up and vigorously shake your booty”, he nevertheless encourages it. His ability to take a crowd on a journey is a key part of why this all works; it’s heavy material and also the audience is invited to view it with curiosity. While AI visuals may be jarring and the lyrics get increasingly dystopian (“her creation groans / rotten to the core”), the rain-drop sounds ahead of ‘Kalimba’ help to ground the music once more. Similarly, while the lyrics have been fast and furious across the evening, in ‘Grand Finale’ there is repetition and clarity that gives a sense of hope for coming out the other side. Soweto offers the plea “Lord, have mercy on us all / before the grand finale / and the curtain call” and plenty of heads nod along.

Ahead of penultimate track ‘Epilogue’, Soweto reflects on the writing process of this premier, saying with wistful understatement that “it’s been a crazy couple of years we’ve been living through”. Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, does an excellent job of capturing that madness while also offering an olive branch of hope for what might come next without necessarily providing a plan. Instead, the lyrics pose some timely questions including “would you speaking if nobody spoke?” and “can it be a fantasy that the war hammers cease?”. With this work completing a three-work trilogy (preceded by The Black Peril and White Juju) Soweto has demonstrated once more a flare for asking ambitious questions and offering equally ambitious answers. And in life, one of those answers seems to be: if in doubt, “shake your booty”.

Part of the EFG London Jazz Festival. The 2025 festival runs 14-23 November — explore full listings here.