#mono Tamaki Kunishi

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Sorrow by Mono from the album Nowhere Now Here - A film by Alison Group

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Changing the game: Emma Ruth Rundle at Roadburn 2019

Feature via Never Mind the Hype Roadburn had no shortage of female musicians, generally being awesome. Whether it is the heavy bass work of Tamaki Kunishi (MONO), the multi-layered keyboards of Helen Stanley (Crippled Black Phoenix) or Amalie Bruun (Myrkur) achieving two critically acclaimed black metal albums. Of course, it seems redundant writing about female representation in heavy music today, let alone in regards to a massively diverse festival such as Roadburn. However, it isn’t all that long ago that bands were marketed as ‘all female’ or ‘female fronted’ as if this was something new. So even in this day and age, with those labels long gone out of hot shot marketers’ mouths, female representation is as important and relevant as ever. Enter Emma Ruth Rundle, who is prominently featured at this year’s festival and quickly became one of this edition’s most valuable players.  

Thursday: The Rise of Rundle The visitors audibly complaining about long queues at the Patronaat wholly weren’t prepared for a packed Koepelhal. With a line all the way to the entrance outside, visitors scrambled to get a glimpse of Emma Ruth Rundle. Hailing from Kentucky, the songwriter, guitarist and visual artist comes to showcase all of those talents at Roadburn. And good things come to those who wait, because the patiently waiting visitors where greeted with a crushing, heavy performance. With her mixture of folk, post-rock and metal, Emma Ruth Rundle showcases a knack for diverse songwriting, one profusely featured on her 2018 album On Dark Horses. As a visual artist, she also has a spot at the Full Bleed Expo, showcasing her art inspired by her latest album, unique and otherworldly.

A thundering Thou on Friday And yet again, a massive queue awaited visitors at the Koepelhal. And for good reason, because the early evening saw a collaborative performance by sludge metalband Thou and Emma Ruth Rundle herself. It seems like an eclectic choice, mixing their pounding, sludgy foundation, groovy riffs and harsh vocals with Emma Ruth Rundle’s angelic voice. However, it turns out to be one of the highlights on Friday. A surprisingly seamless synergy, with towering vocals and crushing sludge metal, like two colors bleeding together to form a new one.

Punk’s not dead at Ladybird Skatepark One of the most intimate and special places prominently featured this year was Ladybird Skatepark. With beautiful yet unnerving performances such as Lingua Ignota or an exhaustive, cathartic hardcore gig by Great Grief, it seems only fitting that Emma Ruth Rundle would make another surprise appearance, located right between the Koepelhal and her exhibition. This results in another energetic collaboration with Thou, playing high-octane covers of punk legends The Misfits.

It only goes to show why Emma Ruth Rundle, and to an extent Thou themselves, became one of Roadburn’s MVP’s. Not only because Emma Ruth Rundle is extremely good at what she does, but also because she is changing the game, pushing boundaries in the heavy music scene.

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Mono Live  2012-12-02

https://archive.org/details/mono2012-12-02.at.flac16

01 Intro

02 Legend

03 Nostalgia

04 Dream Odyssey

05 Pure as Snow (Trails of the Winter Storm)

06 Follow the Map

07 Unseen Harbor

08 Ashes in the Snow

09 Everlasting Light

01 Intro

02 Legend

03 Nostalgia

04 Dream Odyssey

05 Pure as Snow (Trails of the Winter Storm)

06 Follow the Map

07 Unseen Harbor

08 Ashes in the Snow

09 Everlasting Light

Takaakira "Taka" Goto - lead guitar, effects Hideki "Yoda" Suematsu - rhythm guitar Tamaki Kunishi - bass, keyboards, glockenspiel Yasunori Takada - drums, timpani, gong

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I’ve heard it said (and occasionally by myself) that music tribes are no more.

Walking around the Southbank complex in advance of my third Meltdown gig, that theory was disavowed. The place was teeming with Nine Inch Nails fans, almost universally dressed head to toe in black. We’d tried and failed to get tickets so nipped across from the Royal Festival Hall to the newly refurbished Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The remodelling has been subtle. The foyer appears to have been the main beneficiary with better drinking and eating spaces. The cloakroom has been moved downstairs. The auditorium itself seems very similar to its former state, which I’m delighted by as it is great sounding and intimate but comfortable environment.

Seeing the NIN and Mono fans mingling with the Friday night city drinkers and the tourists enjoying a gorgeous June evening added a sense of the surreal. For me though, this shows London at its best, providing something for everyone in a beautiful location next to the Thames.

A nice welcome gift for Mono from Robert Smith

I’d not seen Mono before and whilst I had enjoyed their albums each time I dipped in, it would be stretching it say I was a die-hard fan. Their music works well for me in the background which may sound slightly odd given this is amped up post-rock, in a similar vein to Mogwai or God Speed! You Black Emperor. The chance to enjoy them in such a refined setting wasn’t to be missed.

The band lined up on stage with both guitarists, Takaakira “Taka” Goto and Hideki “Yoda” Suematsu seated on either side of bass/keyboard player Tamaki Kunishi. The two guys were dressed in dark skinny clothes with swathes of long hair, the epitome of Japanese rock’n’roll cool (bringing to mind the guy who wrapped our cooking knives for us in Osaka). Tamaki was wearing what a five-year-old child would probably describe as a princess dress, which combined with her rock-solid bass playing to quite disarming effect.

Tamaki from the 2015 European tour with the obligatory Orange bass rig

The band’s music is mostly instrumental with Tamaki adding vocals on a couple of songs. Their work is pretty binary. If you like that whole loud beautiful guitar rock that sounds like heavens opening or continents drifting then they are for you. The volume is overwhelming at times. How you cope with this sits somewhere between the physical and spiritual. It isn’t atonal so I find the music emotionally uplifting whilst the sheer loudness causes particles to vibrate. Close your eyes and drift away.

Looking at the setlist, it is clear that they were trying out their new album that is being released in the Autumn, combined with another European tour. Like their fellow Japanese noise/beauty artists Boris, the whole package is what my teenage daughter would describe as “aesthetic”.

The gig finished amid a squall of feedback reducing to absolute silence.

Mono have an identifiable sound and are very much a binary experience – you love it or hate it. I was in the latter category.

A quick word on support artist, Jo Quail. A solo cellist using an electric instrument which was processed via a multitude of effects pedals, she clearly enjoyed the performance. She played passionately with plenty of high drama. If you enjoy the Warren Ellis/Dirty Three style of instrumental string driven music, then it may well be worth checking her out.

  Edit this setlist | More Jo Quail setlists

  My final #meltdown18 gig - beauty from @monoofjapan and @JoQuailCello. Rounds things off nice and dark. Read about it here: I've heard it said (and occasionally by myself) that music tribes are no more. Walking around the Southbank complex in advance of my third Meltdown gig, that theory was disavowed.

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Innocence by MONO from the album Pilgrimage of the Soul - A film by Alison Group

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Ashes in the Snow by MONO (featuring Jo Quail) from the album Beyond the Past - Live in London with the Platinum Anniversary Orchestra

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Riptide by MONO from the album Pilgrimage of the Soul - A film by Alison Group

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Nowhere, Now Here by Mono from the album Beyond the Past, live in London with the Platinum Anniversary Orchestra - Created and edited by Ogino Design

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Breathe by Mono from the album Nowhere Now Here - Video by Julien Levy

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TRL 2019 by MONO

God Bless + After You Comes The Flood by Mono - A short film by Julien Levy