The state-of-the-art sound system at a Kent theatre will be put through its paces this weekend by the pumping bass of trip hop trio Kosheen and dance fans of Noughties music. Jo Roberts reports.

If you were a bit of a raver in the Noughties then you’ll remember Sian Evans’ powerful voice from the bass-heavy club hits Hide U and Catch by Kosheen.

If not, then you’d recognise them anyway from the No.1 hit Louder by DJ Fresh, which was the soundtrack to a particularly high-octane TV ad for Lucozade in 2011.

“I like writing and I get a kick out of collaborating. It’s a wonderful feeling when two people get into a studio together and you land something as beautiful as Louder,” said Sian.

When Sian fronts Kosheen at Chatham’s Britannia Theatre on Friday, January 30, it will be a welcome return to Kent for the 43-year-old, who spent part of her childhood in Whitstable and has some great memories of the area.

“I adored it. It was some formative years from the age of about nine to 12 and then we moved back to Wales, it was a rude awakening. I’ve got so many memories, Kent is – in my memory – very idyllic. I have popped back a few times and had a pint in the Neptune in Whitstable, but it’s a long way for a day trip. I’ve moved to the sea now for the first time in my adult life, in the Vale of Glamorgan,” she said.

But as a young, ambitious singer, Sian was drawn from her native Wales to Bristol not by the bright lights but the bass beats.

“Bristol seemed like a really buzzing place back then, there was Massive Attack and Portishead. I got really involved with the drum and bass scene in Bristol,” remembers Sian.

It was there she formed Kosheen with two DJs, known as Markee Ledge and Darren Decoder, and their first big hit was Hide U in 2001, followed by Catch in the same year and Hungry in 2002. It must have been a fun time?

“Fun’s one word... I was a young mum so our lives changed completely. We went from being joined at the hip, my son [Yves] and I, to ‘mum’ being whisked away and playing international gigs every night of the week.

“ We signed a record deal so I could buy a house, but there were pros and cons. It created lots of issues. It was tough for Yves, it was tough for me,” says Sian honestly.

“He’s now 22 and has just graduated with a degree in music technology. He’s a very talented musician in his own right who knows what the music industry is like.

“The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree.”

Despite many forays into the charts in various guises during the course of her singing career – including the DJ Fresh collaboration, which brought her powerhouse of a voice to the attention of a younger generation of dance fans – Sian’s life experience also led her to a second career that she’s been fortunate to enjoy alongside the music.

She says: “I’m a qualified youth worker and have done some lovely work with young people around song writing and performing. It’s great how you can turn your experience into education, I didn’t realise that I could do that until I started teaching.”

However it will be her frontwoman role with Kosheen at the very forefront of Sian’s mind on Friday.

Darren does not tour with Kosheen any more and so it will be Mitch Glover alongside Sian and Mark in Medway, but she’s never been happier to perform in front of a home crowd of sorts, saying: “I’m looking forward to being back in Kent. A lot of old family friends are going to venture up from Whitstable.”

ADDICTED TO BASS

Dance fans will feel the force when the Bose sound system at the Britannia Theatre kicks in with the bass.

The Britannia Theatre at Dickens World in Chatham had its standing capacity increased to 800 last year and became a test venue for sound technology giant Bose, whose headquarters is just down the road in Gillingham.

The system is designed to deliver live acoustics which compete with the UK’s leading music venues.

Equipment was loaned to Dickens World in exchange for Bose having access to the theatre to demonstrate the equipment to potential clients when there are no performances scheduled.

Kosheen are at the Britannia Theatre, Dickens World, Chatham, on Friday, January 30. Tickets cost £17.50. Visit agmp.ticketabc.com/events/kosheen-kent