When she woke, her head was pounding. She knew that it was her against the day, but she didn’t care. Something was different. When she flicked on the lights, the artificial shine broke the silence of the darkness, furthering her headache. However, on the other side of that interrupted darkness was hope, for something was different.
Blank faced yet eerily wide-eyed, she began her day. On her way to work, there was something enigmatic about her commute. She was enveloped in traffic just as she was the day before. There was still the ambient presence of people who had given up around her, but she laughed ironically, for something was different.
At the office, people stared at her curiously. “What is she smiling about?” they murmured to each other. She still had bleak, impending deadlines, the women down the hall still hated her, and her boss still looked at her with lustful eyes, but none of this mattered, for MONO was coming.
MONO creates music that makes the mundane life epic; it is music to live and die by. Masters of the rise and fall, MONO creates foundations with reverberated distortion, elongated with strings, and accentuated with piano, harpsichord, and glockenspiel. The gradual progression grips at the listener’s heart with yearning, hope, and despair. When the emotions are too great to bear, the cymbals crash, the drums explode, the bass roars, and the guitars let out blood curdling screams.
As dark and demonstrative as MONO’s music can be, it can be as equally ethereal. When they played “Everlasting Light,” their last song at their ten year anniversary celebration in NYC, the physical light in the room grew with the swell of the music. At the finale, drummer Yasunori Takada, signaled to the orchestra that it was time for the final crash. Each cymbal crash was a representation of the celebration, gratitude, and love. And then, it was over. No encore. MONO was complete.
MONO is not currently touring with a full orchestra, but each show is a once in a lifetime opportunity. No single show is like the one before, nor can it forecast the one after it. Just be there, or I promise you, you’ll regret it.
I am also honored to announce that SSG has an exclusive giveaway for this show. Click –>HERE<– to enter to win. Please include your name and the name of your guest as you would like to have it read on the guest list. Also, feel free to include a note about how much you love MONO, what you’re looking forward to, or any other kind words you have about the band. The winner will be selected on October 8, 2009 by 5PM.
Until then, please enjoy clips from MONO’s 10 year anniversary celebration in NYC.
Band Members
Takaakira “Taka” Goto: guitar
Tamaki: bass
Yoda: guitar
Yasunori Takada: drums
Special Guests:
Jeff Milarsky and the Wordless Music Orchestra
Trying to describe being at this show is like trying to describe color to a blind person; if you weren’t able to see and hear it for yourself there aren’t words or even media recreations that can appropriately convey the experience, but here goes nothing — here goes everything.
Being an audience member for the 10 year anniversary celebration of MONO’s first show was an emotional experience of the most profound kind. Their newest release entitled “Hymn to the Immortal Wind” includes a full orchestra. The evening of May 8, 2009 was the first time that MONO recreated the full orchestra for a live concert; it was a smashing success.
The evening before the concert I had the honor of interviewing Taka. We were able to talk about some of the meanings behind MONO’s music and what being able to deliver that music meant to him among other things. In the interview below Taka discusses a song entitled “Ashes in the Snow.” This song is about a woman who loses her husband — her soul mate in death. Still yearning for connection with her partner, she takes his ashes and scatters them at sea. The sun lifts the ocean water commingled with her husband’s ashes into clouds. When the clouds release it’s matter into snow, the woman knows she is enveloped in the presence of her husband. This is the type of rich emotional substance that goes into MONO’s work. Even if you aren’t aware of the stories behind each of the songs, MONO has some of the most emotionally evocative material that I have ever been able to experience.
Even with that foundation, I went to the concert unprepared for what I was going to get. The tender lulls of the music were organic and spiritual; in those moments I felt motionless and fetal. The swells were so intense that the only matching physical manifestation would have been if I had run to the edge of the third floor balcony and jumped off.
I have an affinity towards music of this ilk because I crave the ultimate rush. The music had the same effect on my guests but it occurred to them as unsettling. My sister likened this concert to extreme sports and other forms of pleasure that aren’t suitable for the faint of heart. I could not have agreed with her more. MONO is an accessible realm for me to get the same type of rush as free falling out of a plane. For some, that experience is fearsome. For others like me, it is the thrill of a lifetime.
I invite you to have the experience the way that I did. Please enjoy the interview with Taka followed by the full songs Ashes in the Snow, Follow the Map, and Everlasting Light.
Seattle Show Gal is in hot pursuit of undiscovered talent! How many great bands are out there that are slipping through the cracks? Seattle is saturated with so much music, it would be nearly impossible to sift through it all to find the good stuff. The Seattle Show Gal staff is not so proud to think that we can bring you all of it, but we are actively pursuing all different types of acts to give you a pulse on what is going on--right here in Seattle! (See more in "About")
