then we saw the stars again

Hunted by a freak (Mogwai cover) by amberhaze

Errol asked me if I wanted to come down and hang out with Mike and Jared from Lymbyc Systym the night before the show. He wasn’t sure he could spend some time with them with all the commitments you find yourself submerged with when you’re trying to run a show for 3 different bands, So I was happy to play the artist liaison for the evening! In the end, it was still the four of us, and after a few beers we took the brother to Little India.
It was as though we had met before. I definitely had a feeling of deja-vu with Mike and Jared. They reminded me of some of the musician friends I had when we used to live in Providence. The type of people you can just start a conversation with, and you know it will just bounce off and evolve and morph into completely different topics. Case in point: veganism, Zen retreats, vintage keyboards and hoomecooked Italian food.
I find it very reassuring that musicians can reach a certain level of success, open for some of the most lauded current bands, and still remain totally unfazed about the whole media circus or the need to be in every hipster’s good books. More than anything, I think it just sums up the proverbial lesson: keep doing what you love, and something good will come out of it. Which were pretty much our parting words for the night!

The gig at Homeclub was great. Maybe it was because I knew it was going to be my last in Singapore, but it felt liberating. Playing by yourself and looping your own sounds can be daunting at times, and if you make a mistake there is no simple way to rectify it smoothly, which happens on occasion. But all loops were looped exactly when they needed to, the balance was just right, and it felt good to say goodbye with some songs that some in the audience have grown familiar with.

I did play a new cover, and that’s what you can hear in this blog. “Hunted by a freak” is one of my favourite tracks by Mogwai, and I only played it once before on the grand piano. This version is closer to the original I suppose, and at the same time it shows the direction some of my new tracks are taking.
I just realised how much I love playing and recording covers. Maybe I should start a record club too? hmm…

Lymbyc Systym were up next. And it’s amazing how full the keyboards/drums setup can sound. Plug a Rhodes and a Clavinet into a Vox and Ampeg, and you’ve got your walls of guitars and pounding basses at your fingertips. The Microkorg is just the icing on the cake.
Their brand of instrumental music is unmistakably American, in a Keith Jarrett kind of way. The sense of openness in their melodies, the interplay between the Rhodes and the drumming: never overdoing it, but never minimalistic either. This is why I’ve come to like North American bands more than their European counterparts. There is no false sense of irony, no existentialist angst looming every four bars. The music is honest, simple and beautiful. And ultimately, it stays with you much longer.

LITE were many things, but above all, they were precise. And as much as Lymbyc Systym could be the perfect soundtrack to a roadtrip in Arizona, LITE feels like walking down Shibuya or crossing platforms in Shinjuku. Their musicianship is incredible, from the odd-time signatures to the sudden outbursts of guitars and motorik bass. You know the feeling you have when your CD is skipping and you find it oddly fascinating? LITE can do that, live.
The crowd clearly came for them, too. And it was great to finally see a lot of reaction from the audience. This is something I never really got used to here, so for once seeing people loosening up and pushing towards the front was refreshing.

We hung out some more after the show, and Mike told me more about his adventures touring in small Italian towns and drumming for other bands. He also seemed to be quite amused by the fact that the kids are into music, and I could see the parallels between Luca and Dante and the Bell brothers. Luca and Mike, the older brothers, are both more extroverted and generally louder, and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy their stories. Dante and Jared are more mellow, and that’s why the dynamics work: it’s all in the balance.

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Mike summed up his musical philosophy this way: you’ve gotta play every show like it’s your last, or like a 6-year-old would. But with more control.
I couldn’t agree more. And as Luca and Dante grow up in a more receptive place for kids to play, experiment, fail and pick themselves up again, I’ll make sure to remind them.

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There will be more posts before I leave, but I really want to thank Errol and Lesley for believing in music, and making things happen.
Live band photos courtesy of Thomas Tan. Truly a devoted music lover and an amazing photographer.