On a warm Tuesday night in Phoenix, Mei Semones turned Valley Bar into something quieter, softer, and infinitely more intimate.
The Brooklyn-based artist brought her Animaru Tour to the heart of Arizona on July 15th, offering a set full of dreamy textures, mesmerizing vocals, and genre-bending instrumental stylings. Her debut album Animaru, released earlier this summer, has already earned praise for its gentle mix of jazz, bossa nova, and bilingual songwriting (English, Japanese).
It’s rare that Phoenix receives the opportunity to see an act with a sound as unique as Semones’. While we’re regularly blessed with an abundance of rising acts on the forefront of the indie scene, this show immediately felt distinct from the others. One could only assume that many fans felt the same way, as this debut headlining show in our city was completely sold out.
The moment that Semones and her band delivered the first note of “Tegami”, a soothing ambience flooded through the room, grounding us firmly within the four walls around us. The fluid nature of her vocals, in tandem with the flurry of hand movements up and down the neck of her guitar, made it virtually impossible to focus on anything beyond the magic happening directly in front of us.
If one thing was made certain within the first half of the setlist (featuring tracks like “Wakare no Kotoba”, “Inaka”, and “Kemono”), it’s that Semones is in a lane of her own when it comes to live performance. Placed in front of new generations that are drifting further away from historic forms of live music performance like orchestras, symphonies, jazz bands, and other ensembles, one might think she’d face an uphill battle to capture the attention of fans. Yet, Semones has impressively reimagined and repackaged these sonic influences into gorgeous, multicultural arrangements that are reintroducing people to the beauty of classical instruments, such as the violin and viola wielded by two members of her band. It’s not a resuscitation by any means, but rather, it’s the evolution of a genre. And it’s happening before our very eyes.
As the night progressed, Semones and her band pulled fans deeper and deeper into their orbit through tracks like “I can do what I want” and, my personal favorite, “Zarigani”. The transition between English and Japanese happened with ease throughout the latter track.
Despite not personally understanding any Japanese, the emotional depth with which Semones performed communicated everything that fans needed to know in each song. The precise musicality her band poured into their performance only added further depth to the experience, demonstrating a synergy that has clearly been developed with great care and genuine connection.
Normally, artists break up their set with short tangents, anecdotes, or just conversation with the crowd. Semones didn’t speak much between songs, but she honestly didn’t need to. Her music spoke for itself each and every time. Every track told a story, some channeling nostalgia and others seemingly expressing longing, among other things. But always rooted in place by her quiet confidence.
By the end of the night, it was clear: Mei Semones doesn’t need to be loud to leave a lasting impression.
