A few weeks before the festival I became a Facebook friend of Super Seaweed Sex Scandal and could therefore hear about their happiness to be booked in Moers and then expand the whole thing into a little Europe tour. And sometime towards the end of the concert alto sax player Nonoko Yoshida adressed her thanks to the festival's artistic director again for booking them. That's all quite understandable: They're a young group - both from the players' age and from the mere 9 months they are playing together. In advance it was always stressed that they came together in New York's The Stone which is curated by John Zorn. That's no wonder, because there mere mentioning of that name describes the group's aesthetic quite well. They're not as wild and grindy as early Naked City (or Fantômas, which also sprang to my mind in the beginning of the concert), they add some more melodic/folky lines and let them breathe without hammering them down just a few seconds later, but they are after all certainly somewhere in the same galaxy. Their handwriting was not epigonal, yet somehow a bit shivering. I guess that's a bit lack of experience. They could make it clear what they wanted to say, but they didn't make their statements in a certain, definite way. It's good to see that Moers gives people like these a chance to experiment, experience and develop - not only for the main stage concert but also by splitting the group members up and let them play in the morning sessions.
What we could see here in the main concert was a young group full of potential. They could develop in a very positive way if they keep searching for their own voices and free themselves more and more from the John Zorn / Mike Patton patterns. But to my impression the decision isn't made yet - it's also still possible that they'll burn like moths getting to close to the light and become a mere footnote in the voluminous book of wunderkinder. Only time will tell... I wish them the best.
Before the concert started I told my wife about the Facebook messages I read from Super Seaweed Sex Scandal. I asked her to advice me after the concert if I should stay a Facebook friend of them or should quit the friendship. We both agreed after the concert that I should stay their virtual friend.
P.S. 2: My wife with her synaesthetic mind for music saw insect images during the concert. She suggested the band to rename into "Super Insect Sex Scandal"
P.S. 3: I nearly forgot it - certainly you should also check out what Lutz Eitel wrote about John Zorn, Curlew, Dr. Nerve and the young guys.
P.S. 4: A poster.
3 comments:
〉 a young group full of potential
true. when i saw these young guys, i have habitually compared them to those successful young musicians (in the sense of their popularity) who come from ethnic group which I am familiar with. as a result, I appreciate the manner of this group more, due to the impression which I got from them; they are not only confident, but also humble without tangible pretence (not only because Borey Shin smiled at me). besides, I really like their insect scenery. :-)
I think they were only confident when playing as Super Seaweed Sex Scandal. When broken up and mixed with other musicians in the morning session they seemingly lost confidence (with the exception of the tenor sax player).
hm, I think that the drum and the alto-saxophone performed quite okay as well, although they might be a bit too much preoccupied by the sound-elements which are applied into their group music.
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