Wild, Raw, Unstoppable: Ecca Vandal Live at Sebright Arms
Photos by Levi Ocean
Last night marked the first of two sold-out shows for Ecca Vandal at Sebright Arms. She hit the stage with the restless fire that has made her a cult figure in alternative music lately. By the time she finished, it was clear the East London basement had witnessed something both wild and personal. The Sebright Arms, with its low ceiling and sweat-slicked walls, has a way of turning shows into something raw. Ecca thrived in that atmosphere, treating the crowd less like fans and more like partners in chaos. What followed was a storm of sound — punk, hip-hop, electronica and heavy pop clashing together in the way only she can deliver.
Ecca Vandal is no stranger to the UK. Back in 2017 she supported Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes at the O2 Academy Brixton, where many saw her explosive energy for the first time. More recently, in March 2025, she stood out at Limp Bizkit’s OVO Arena Wembley show. That night, Fred Durst joined her mid-set to create a surreal mix of rap-metal and punk edge. It was a stadium-sized moment that proved she could own even the biggest of stages.
The Sebright Arms was the opposite: small, intimate, almost underground. Yet the energy felt just as intense. The night began with DJ Zar easing the crowd in, followed by Master Peace, who had people bouncing before Ecca appeared. When she finally walked on, wearing a bright pink neon dress, the room lit up. The anticipation broke into movement that never really stopped. Her control of dynamics stood out a lot for me. The way she switched from barked aggression to soaring melody in a heartbeat was breathtaking. The tension between grit and beauty has always defined her music, and in a venue this tight, it felt amplified.
Her confidence comes from deep roots. Born to Sri Lankan refugee parents in South Africa and raised in Melbourne, she grew up surrounded by music. Her family’s jazz background shaped her ear, while gospel, hip-hop and soul flowed through the household. That mix, along with her identity and heritage, gives her music a force that feels both personal and political. On stage, you hear echoes of her heroes — Bad Brains, Fugazi, gospel choirs, R&B singers — all colliding in bursts of punk noise, rap-flow, electronics, and sudden, sweet melodies.
At the end of the set, she performed ‘Cruising To Self Soothe’, released earlier this year. It’s a song about building strength when you’re on your own, finding resilience even when isolation cuts deep. In the closeness of the Sebright, the song hit hard. Her voice carried both vulnerability and defiance and the crowd leaned into every word. By the end, the room was drenched in heat and sound. Every beat shook the floor, every lyric felt sharper in the small space. Ecca spent as much time leaning into the crowd as she did stepping back, breaking the line between stage and floor until it felt like a shared outburst rather than a performance.
Leaving the venue into the cool London night was a shock, the sudden quietness after so much noise and energy. What stayed with me was how Ecca Vandal can easily make a small gig feel monumental. She doesn’t just sing songs. She feels them. She bends genres, draws on her history and demands your full attention. Last night showed again that she is a singular force — fearless, versatile and unforgettable.
