Wednesday 22 July 2026, 7.30pm
I’ve Seen That Face Before is a music and performance night, curated by singer-songwriter NiCKY and writer and filmmaker Sean Burns. It is the second in a quarterly residency series showcasing an eclectic line-up of queer artists all experimenting on the fringes of avant-garde music, visual art and performance. Taking its name from the Grace Jones classic, the night draws on the organisers’ shared experiences of traversing the city’s nightlife hinterlands, bars and dancefloors.
Death Awareness Cafe is a Berlin-based band founded by James Main, frontman of the late cock-rock outfit Wild Daughter. The name derives from a Bangkok restaurant where diners can enjoy their meal from inside a coffin. Death Awareness Cafe painted an uneasy portrait of contemporary life in their debut album, Optimistic About Nothing, using colours of dark humour, anxiety and defiance in a world where heroes envy quitting. At Cafe OTO, they will present unreleased tracks from their forthcoming second album, Births, Deaths and Marriages, which continues to flirt with similar boundaries. Main is joined by Max Bauer (guitar), Petar Miletić (machines), Marian Mutschlechner (drums) and special guest Isabelle de Jour (brass).
https://deathawarenesscafe.bandcamp.com/
Harold Offeh is an artist working in a range of media, including performance, video, photography, learning and social arts practice. Offeh is interested in the space created by the inhabiting or embodying of histories. He employs humour as a means to confront the viewer with historical narratives and contemporary culture. He has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, including at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, London; Studio Museum Harlem, New York; MAC VAL, Paris; Kunsthal Charlottenborg; and Art Tower Mito.
https://www.haroldoffeh.com/
GUIA makes cinematic pop synthscapes you can sing along to. Inspired by British synth-pop, Italian melodrama and East London’s nightlife, they are building a Neuromantic world dedicated to escapism, self-invention and endless possibility.
https://www.instagram.com/hausofgugu/
A vital voice in London’s queer performance scene, NiCKY is known for their disarming, emotionally charged songwriting – part torch song, part bedroom synth fantasy. Recent work includes scores for Tomorrow Is Already Dead at Soho Theatre and The AIDS Plays Project at London Performance Studios. NiCKY has just been awarded PRS funding to create their self-titled debut album. Their EP, with, was released at Cafe OTO in 2025.
https://nickys.bandcamp.com
Ms G (they/them) has been a mainstay of the London queer scene for the better part of the last decade. A longstanding resident at Dalston Superstore, their sound draws from a rich tapestry of influences: high-energy rave, sultry percussive tribal rhythms, pumping house and rolling numbers weaved together with classic UK motifs and the playful vocals that Ms G has become synonymous with. They have played at some of London’s most coveted parties, including Body Movements, the now-defunct Big Dyke Energy raves, Club Are, UNFOLD, Smut Press and Chapter 10.
https://www.instagram.com/msg_ldn/
