Jazz draws a lot on the idea of improvisation; compositions tend to favor solos and extended passages, and instruments build on each other through emotion more than notes. In a place like Saturn, an intimate music venue in Birmingham, the openness of these practices creates a space where patrons can not only enjoy the artistry behind their favorite songs by the likes of Mei Semones (and her band) and opener Jon Roseboro, but also experience glimpses into the joy of creation alongside the performers. Before I enjoyed the show, I got the lovely experience of sitting down with Mei and talking about her music tastes, working with her family, and the way thinking in different languages affects the writing process.
For those not in the know, Mei Semones is typically labeled an indie-pop, jazz, and bossa-nova artist. She’s known for singing in both Japanese and English, and she performs with a band consisting of drums, guitar, violin, and a viola! Mei’s band takes notes from experimental and math rock where each performer takes full advantage of their instrument’s sonic capabilities to craft a lush pop sound with the technical prowess of the classically trained musicians they are. With such a complex heritage, I was curious what music Mei Semones was listening to. Unsurprisingly, she said that most of her listening was older music, and that her main source of music was her friends— “I would say mostly word of mouth, people just telling me about music or recommending me stuff. I don't really go too hard with the Spotify algorithm, but I also just don't put that much effort into finding new music. I kind of just listen to the same stuff over and over again, and then if someone shares something with me that I like, then I'll listen to it.” Mei’s taste in older jazz music might explain her choice of opener and frequent collaborator, Jon Roseboro, whose vocal and guitar talent may be outdone only by his writing.
With most of her inspirations coming from older, more traditional albums, I was curious what was pushing Mei’s experimentation and genre-mashing. It turns out the answer was almost entirely internal. In Mei’s own words - “I'm trying to make music that is fun for me to play and that I like. It doesn't always have to be difficult, but I think I tend to like playing things that are maybe a little hard or, like, challenging myself in some way. I find that to be the most fun part of music. So I think it just ends up being complicated because that's what's fun for me to try.” There may be only one thing I imagine is harder than Mei’s guitar tracks—writing in multiple languages, a problem Mei is intimately familiar with. When I asked how she decides when to sing in English versus Japanese, she said there was little planning involved—“I kind of just go with whatever feels right for the moment. I usually don't decide anything beforehand, you know? I'll start maybe in one language, but then whenever it feels right to go to the other one, I'll just switch. It's not something that I try to plan out or structure too much. Because I feel like it works better for me if it's just natural.” This is an attitude Mei carries over to her music as well, noting that she tended to write more intricate pieces purely because that’s what was coming out of her.
Before leaving Mei and preparing to enjoy the show, I had one last question - what’s the best kind of crowd to perform for? “I feel like I'm pretty open to different types of audiences. I don't mind, like, for example, when we play in Asia or Japan, it's a very quiet audience, but not quiet in a bad way, quite in a way that they're, like, really attentive and locked in, and no one is talking, no one is even cheering vocally. It's only clapping. So I like that type of audience, but then, for example, if we play somewhere like Atlanta or something, it's the opposite. People are singing along. People aren't necessarily talking during this set, but it's way more cheering and I guess, just like an outwardly expressive type of audience. Which I like too. I think for me the most important thing, it doesn't matter if they're quiet or loud, but I just want them to be listening and having a good time.”
With that last note, I gave my leave to Mei, and got ready to enjoy a few hours of music. As I mentioned earlier, Jon Roseboro was a stunning solo opener, whose setlist was entirely improvised. I really enjoyed getting to see the way he reacted to the audience’s and his own energy, occasionally stopping mid-song when the emotion wasn’t right and taking moments to vocalize or just enjoy a nice rhythm on the guitar. Just small glimpses into the actual feelings of the performer, rather than the ‘character’ that needs to be played during the conference, gave each lyric an extra nugget of honesty. It was a great chance to learn how to be receptive to a less predictable style of music, and the perfect commencement to Mei’s show.
Mei Semone's band took the stage with a strange energy, a technically skilled yet young group that made each turn feel unexpected. While I knew what the songs sounded like in the studio, I wasn’t prepared for the loudness of the show, nor the amount of passion that would come through Mei’s voice during a live performance. While no articles associate her work with the ‘rock’ genre, it felt just like a rock concert, with most of the guitar players swapped out for a string orchestra. It’s at times like this that I feel the “genre-mashing” style that’s been highlighted in the global indie scene feels most effective. Rather than just crafting a new sound, Mei and her band are giving an older genre the chance to breathe in an entirely new environment and seeing what comes out of it. From what I saw at the concert, the result was a gathering of many different communities, with classical jazz enthusiasts getting to rub elbows with indie-pop deep divers. I’d also be remiss to not mention the community the concert provided to Alabama’s Japanese-speaking and Asian population, as a rare and intimate chance to experience eastern language and inspired music in a larger public space. It’s a special moment in Saturn’s history, and it makes me even more thankful for the alternative artists like Mei Semones who bring their impact to Alabama.