On 27th May in Firley club in Wrocław, and on the next day in Kwadrat in Cracow, Japanese instrumental group – mono gave their concerts. Their performance was supported by Belgian musician Dirk Serries, hidden behind the pseudonym Microphonics.
To begin with I’m going to say something about the support act, though honestly I’d prefer not to do this because it may come out that I’m a total ignorant when it comes to modern music trends. I have to admit that for the first 10 minutes I was wandering whether it is a proper performance or just tuning – in this case of the guitar with which Belgian man was sitting aside, in the half-light, making sounds that resembled absolutely nothing I’ve known. The cognitive element may be regarded as the advantage of my first experience with the music called ambient but this would be the only one.I understand that my childish naivety to look for melody and aesthetic values cannot be applied in this kind of creativity. Though it cannot be evaluated according to well-known standards and schemes, the only thing to do is to close your eyes, indulge in the music and then describe the emotional states that you experienced. I decided to feel what I could not understand. Unfortunately, for the first few minutes the only thing I could feel was indefinable resonance. I’m not sure whether it was intended effect or technical fault but vibrations of the wooden floor made me anxious about the structure of my skull. After that it was much better – but still, for me, nothing special. Monotonous, disturbing sound kept me in for few minutes but not any longer. I think that this kind of concerts should take place in much more intimate situations with perfect sound system which would probably make it possible to catch all sound nuances and evoke certain emotions in listeners.



I felt relief when I saw the star of the evening on the stage. Musicians from Tokyo group mono appeared silently like ghosts, concentrated, modest, making the impression of being almost alienated. They remained like that for most of the time – extremely restrained when it comes to stage expression, all of them dressed in black, introvert, with half-open eyes, concentrated on their instruments, as if the world around them did not exist. There was no doubt that the music was the most important and that they wanted the audience to be concentrated on it as well. But it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any energy. On the contrary. Observing the artists it was possible to notice that they indulged in the music completely and that they enjoyed playing a lot. I found the audience in the same mood almost immediately. Mono are known for their relatively long – about 10-minute long instrumental compositions, rousing melodies, virtuoso playing and energetic concerts. Those who expected such things in Wrocław were not disappointed. They enchanted me completely from the very beginning.

Each composition, despite having no lyrics, seemed to tell a new story, momentarily delicate and lyrical just to turn after a while into fantastic aggressive noise, involving, interesting, surprising for all of the time. Impulsive guitar playing of Taka and Yoda, who were situated at the front of the stage on the left and right side, lead the melodies based on dynamic drums. Yasunori Takada, wildly playing on the drums, remained a little bit at the back against beautiful gold gong. When three guys in the band are accompanied by a woman it’s obvious that it is she who visually constitutes the most graceful and lovely element of the performance. The audience was concentrated on charming bass player – Tamaki, changing from time to time bass into piano, not only because she stayed in the middle of the triangle marked out by the other members of the band but also because of her great play. There is no doubt that auditory impressions were the most important. The band performed 8 compositions during the main part of the performance, and after a while they also played encore, though playing it hasn’t been their habit so far.



Below the set list of the concert:

Ashes In The Snow
Follow The Map
Burial At Sea
Pure As Snow (Trails of the Winter Storm)
Sabbath
Yearning
Halo
Moonlight
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Everlasting Light