Mei Semones Filled St. Louis’ Delmar Hall with Gorgeous, Syncopated Rhythms and Lilting Vocals
— by Carrie Zukoski
She describes her sound as “jazz-influenced indie J-pop,” but there’s no category for Mei Semones (though many of you will note the bossa nova influences). Haven’t heard of her yet? That’s okay. You will. It’s just a matter of time. But do yourself a favor and check out this indie, experimental artist now. Let her music waft over you for a while before you let it slowly swirl around and sink into your soul. Because it will, and when it happens, life, for at least those few moments, will seem blissfully dreamy.
Midway through her 16-city spring tour, Brooklyn-based, 20-something Semones came through St. Louis to Delmar Hall on April 9, just one day ahead of the release of her new EP, Kurage. The 2-300 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, in attendance were treated to around 90-minutes of Semones lilting vocals, softly sung in both English and Japanese, that were accompanied by bass, drums, violin, viola, and a guitar (played by Semones). Soft orange, blue, and purple hues enveloped the stage, setting an ethereal mood throughout the set. The night gave way to various solos between the violinist (Claudius Agrippa) and violist (Noah Leong), the drummer (Ransom McCafferty) and the bassist (Noam Tanzer), as any good jazz-adjacent jam session should.
See more photos from the St. Louis concert here: https://bit.ly/MeiSemones26cz
The rapt audience left the chatter behind and hung on every lyric and every on-stage movement, allowing everyone in attendance to enjoy the music properly. Before performing the heavily-influenced bossa nova, gentle tune, “Howl,” the band played an unreleased song they’d only performed one other time that started soft but became increasingly heavier and noisier before crashing back. Whatever it was, this concert photographer will be waiting for it to be released.
Brooklyn’s John Roseboro opened the night with him simply perched on a stool playing guitar and sharing his post-bossa nova music for 40 minutes to the growing audience. Several in attendance sang quietly along to his beautiful songs, but when he asked for participation during “Crumb,” the crowd faltered at first. But they soon grew fearless, and each time the lyric “one in a million” came around again, fans sang it louder and louder. Roseboro’s performance, as well as his dry wit, drew you in closer. It felt like being in a small room with just a few friends (despite there being a couple of hundred) and experiencing him create in a rehearsal-type setting. His fine finger playing and gentle, easy vocals that felt raw and real transfixed everyone in attendance. He performed what he called lullabies, such as “Alt Ego,” before picking up the pace with “80 Summers” and “She’s Going.” On the last song of his all-too-soon-ended set, Semones joined him for a captivating duet on the song they created in 2023, “How To Cope.”
The syncopated rhythms of Semones and Roseboro eloquently played off one another, making for a beautifully flowing, seamless night of tranquil and transcendent music. Their first time through St. Louis, each, we hope it isn’t their last.
See more photos of Semones’ and Roseboro’s St. Louis Delmar Hall concert here: https://bit.ly/MeiSemones26cz
