Latest news with #MeiSemones
Japan Times
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Mei Semones is the rookie to remember at Fuji Rock
Fuji Rock Festival, one of Japan's biggest summer music events, always manages to assemble an eclectic mix of current and rising stars, nostalgia acts, perennial fixtures and a couple of artists chosen seemingly at random from the 'Where are they now?' file. It's pretty much guaranteed that every year the crowd at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture will come away swooning over at least one newcomer playing their first high-profile Japan show. There are plenty of early contenders for this year's informal rookie of the year award, but the most surefire bet for 2025 is Mei Semones, a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter who plays what she describes as 'jazz-influenced indie J-pop.' Raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by a Japanese mother and American father, the 24-year-old speaks fluent Japanese ('fluent enough,' she clarifies) and sings in both of her native languages. Jazz and indie rock are just two of the touchstones for her music: On debut album 'Animaru,' released in May, she combines them with the gentle caresses of bossa nova, the knotty structures of math rock and a dash of early-1990s grunge. It's an unlikely combination that she delivers with quiet confidence, juggling time signature shifts and fluid guitar licks reminiscent of jazz greats like Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery, backed by an unorthodox lineup that includes violin and viola. While her earlier songs were written on electric guitar, for 'Animaru' she switched to using an acoustic, further accentuating the contrasts in her music. As she sings on 'I can do what I want,' one of the album's standout tracks: 'I am going to do this the way I wanna do it.' Calling Mei Semones' music 'J-pop' is simply intended to signal to listeners that her music has Japanese lyrics. | Apollo Nava The description she uses for her sound is a product of the marketing classes she took while studying jazz guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston, which emphasized the importance of keeping it pithy. 'If someone asks you, 'What kind of music do you make?' you can't be like, 'Oh, it's jazz- and bossa-influenced and math rock and indie rock and grunge and all this stuff and blah blah blah,'' she says, speaking over Zoom from New York. 'Like, no one wants to hear you say that, so you have to come up with a shorter version, you know?' Calling her music 'J-pop' — a term that's more marketing category than genre per se — is simply intended to signal to listeners that her music has Japanese lyrics. On 'Animaru,' Semones switches frequently between languages, sometimes in the course of a single line. She says some listeners in Japan have complimented her on the economy of her Japanese lyrics, though she concedes that this is a product of necessity as much as design. 'I don't really have that many other options, because my vocabulary is limited,' she says. 'But it comes across as being straightforward, I think.' She says she's also had positive feedback from listeners who appreciate the slightly off-kilter way in which she wields the language: 'The way that I place words with melody is different than what a normal native Japanese speaker would do.' Semones spoke Japanese with her mother when growing up, while annual trips to Japan each summer — where she would stay with her grandmother in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture — gave her a chance to immerse herself more fully in the language and culture. The music she heard at the time didn't really grab her, though. 'I feel like my exposure to Japanese music was very much limited to the types of artists that you see on 'Kohaku Uta Gassen,'' she says, referencing the annual year-end music revue broadcast on NHK. 'You know, really popular pop music.' 'I think if I had tried harder to look for Japanese music, I'm sure I could have found something earlier on,' she continues, 'but I just wasn't really searching for that.' While Mei Semones' earlier songs were written on electric guitar, for her debut album, 'Animaru,' she switched to using an acoustic, further accentuating the contrasts in her music. The first Japanese artist she properly clicked with was Ichiko Aoba, whose acoustic-based songcraft touches on some of the same reference points. Semones discovered Aoba's music after starting college, when she had begun incorporating Japanese lyrics into her own songs and, she says, 'was trying to find something that felt somewhat adjacent.' Aoba's rise to international prominence in recent years is indicative of a wider shift in the tastes of Anglophone listeners. Singing in languages other than English is no longer the deal-breaker it was once thought to be — and that's as significant for a Japanese American artist who just wants to express both sides of herself as it is for a J-pop act looking to reach an international audience without having to fake it in English. 'I listen to a lot of Brazilian music, and it's never bothered me that I don't really know Portuguese,' Semones says. 'And so I'm like, yeah, why would it matter? Because for me, it's more about the music than about the words.' Her early musical influences came from earlier generations of guitar heroes, both real and fictional. Having taken piano lessons as a child, she was inspired to switch to guitar at the age of 10, after seeing Marty McFly's axe-slinging antics in 'Back to the Future." She started writing her own songs soon afterward. 'They were bad,' she says with a laugh. 'I guess in terms of style, I was really into Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins. I don't think it sounded anything like those bands, but I think I was kind of going for something a little more grungy and rock.' At high school, she enrolled in the jazz program and started getting to grips with theory. She discovered bossa nova at around the same time (Joao Gilberto is a particular favorite). Deciding to pursue a career in music, she says, came from 'just realizing that there wasn't really anything else that I was interested in doing.' Fuji Rock will be the first time Mei Semones (center) performs in Japan with her full band: violinist Claudius Agrippa (left), viola player Noah Leong, right), bassist Noam Tanzer and drummer Ransom McCafferty. | Sophie Minello She says her parents were fully supportive. Her father is a lifelong euphonium player and had encouraged her early interest in guitar, while her mother is a visual artist and graphic designer, whose work adorns the cover of 'Animaru.' 'They're not the type of people that are like, 'Oh, you need to get a real job,'' she says. 'They would never say that to me.' Semones will already be familiar to regular listeners of Tokyo-based radio station J-Wave, which picked up her 2024 EP, 'Kabutomushi,' while she also played a handful of solo dates in the capital last year. However, Fuji Rock will be the first time she's performed in Japan with her full band: violinist Claudius Agrippa, viola player Noah Leong, bassist Noam Tanzer and drummer Ransom McCafferty. They're all musicians she met at Berklee, while Leong has been a constant since she first struck out as a solo artist. He helped record and mix her first single, 'Hfoas,' released in 2020, and was the one who came up with the idea of adding strings ('and then that became really a big part of my music,' she says). Coming fresh from a headline tour of North America, the group should be in peak form when they play at Fuji Rock on July 27 — and operating at peak velocity. 'We usually play the songs a lot faster live ... like, five or 10 BPM faster than the recording,' Semones says. 'It makes it a little more exciting.' Fuji Rock Festival takes place at Naeba Ski Resort, Niigata Prefecture, from July 25-27. Mei Semones performs at the Red Marquee stage on July 27. For more information about Semones, visit . To learn more about the festival, visit
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meet Mei Semones, the Berklee graduate reimagining New Orleans vibes with an intricate indie flair
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. 'Have you seen Back to the Future?' asks Mei Semones, back in her Brooklyn apartment after a recent sold-out Camden Assembly show. 'That scene where Michael J. Fox is playing the Chuck Berry song? That made me want to play guitar.' Two decades ago, when she was four years old, the thoughtful and intricate indie musician who's rooted in the jazz era began playing an upright given by her grandmother in Yokosuka, Japan. But as Semones reached double digits, she became conscious of a conflict with the instrument. 'I was like, 'I'm not enjoying this,'' she says. 'Guitar felt more like an instrument I could use to play the music that I was listening to.' Her dad – also a musician – gave her a classical nylon acoustic when she was 10. Her parents sent her to Suzuki guitar lessons, but the fit still wasn't right. 'I was learning Mary Had A Little Lamb, which was not what I was looking to do!' When she switched to electric, the pieces began to fall into place. 'I got a new guitar teacher and started open chords and pentatonic scales. 'They were like, 'You should learn this Led Zeppelin song and this Beatles song.'' Presumably not Stairway To Heaven? 'I did learn Stairway to Heaven!' Even the solo? 'When I was probably 12 or 13!' Noting her enthusiasm, Semones' Dad once again stepped in. 'He bought me an Epiphone Les Paul. Whenever I pick it up, I'm like, 'It's so crazy I played this – it's so heavy!'' Growing up in Michigan, she studied music theory at high school ('If I can play guitar at school, why wouldn't I?') before studying jazz guitar at Berklee. That's where her appreciation for the New Orleans-sourced sound grew. 'My teacher showed me Miles Davis' So What? solo, then I was introduced to modes and more theory.' After releasing her EP Kabutomushi last year (with rave reviews from Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea), Semones has now launched debut album Animaru. The record champions theoretical nous but also nods to grungier tones – and such '90s-era noisemakers is where she found her autonomy. 'Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins were the first bands that were to my taste. I loved the emotion and rawness. It was like, 'Oh, this is real music!'' The most important thing is that you sound like yourself Animaru flirts with some of that ferocity in the Tubescreamer-fuelled Tora Moyo – a love letter to her cherry mahogany PRS. 'It's extremely comfortable, fitting my body and my hand really well,' she says of the instrument. 'My dad and I went to Sweetwater's Indiana headquarters. I spent eight hours playing guitar. Everything was intriguing, but I had no preconception of a brand that I wanted. 'I wasn't familiar with PRS. If anything, I was like, 'Oh, the birds are too flashy!' But the moment I played one I was like, 'Whoa, I can play faster now!' It's light and semi-hollow too.' Semones' intricate arrangements inform more tender numbers like the bossanova-led Dumb Feeling and recent single I Can Do What I Want, performed on a pristine Guild with delicate pinch-harmonics – a technique she says is all in the light touch and little adjustments: 'Sometimes moving even half a millimeter will make it ring out much better.' While Animaru might sound like a wild ride through genres, its creator argues that making music, like buying guitars, is all about what feels natural. 'The most important thing is that you sound like yourself – from having a thread through the album to not interfering with the natural tone of my guitar.' In the early 1960s, Dukes of Dixieland's Jim Hall shook up the trad band format by replacing piano with guitar in the rhythm section. More than half a century on, Mei Semones is innovating again and adding a Gen Z flair. 'I still feel weird being like, 'I'm a jazz guitarist,' because in the grand scheme of things, I'm at step one,' she admits. 'I've not even scratched the surface of what it means to be a great guitarist.' Animaru is out now via Bayonet Records.
Globe and Mail
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Filmmaker Evan Deng Deng Expands Family Video Store, Boosting Presence in New York City's Indie Music and Digital Media Scene
The expansion marks a new chapter in the company's evolution as a hub for independent visual storytelling. Asian-American filmmaker Evan Deng announces the expansion of the Family Video Store, a creative production house that has become a key player in New York City's indie music and digital media scene. Known for collaborating with hyperpop and indie pop musicians, Evan Deng's company is widening its reach to support a new wave of Gen-Z artists and filmmakers using platforms like TikTok and Instagram to connect with audiences. Family Video Store, founded in 2022, has immediately gained recognition for its distinctive approach to music video production. The company has worked with indie artists and record labels, providing a platform for emerging musicians and filmmakers seeking high-quality visual content that aligns with their creative vision. Evan Deng, based in New York City, has directed and produced projects for artists such as INJI, Mei Semones, Alice Longyu Gao, Namasenda, 8485, Fish Narc, Sophie Cates, Ravenna Golden, Babebee, Dafna, and Sebii. His work spans multiple genres, from hyperpop to indie pop, and is designed to engage audiences on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and other digital platforms. 'For me, music videos are no longer just promotional tools—they shape an artist's identity and strengthen their connection with their audience,' Evan Deng said. 'Family Video Store actually aims to elevate storytelling and produce creative videos that resonate and make a mark across digital and social platforms.' The company's ability to craft compelling visual narratives, according to Evan Deng, has made it a sought-after partner for independent musicians and BIPOC artists aiming to expand their audience. It has also drawn interest from labels such as Epitaph Records and Robbins Entertainment, reinforcing its influence in the industry. Family Video Store has adapted to a shifting media landscape where Gen-Z engagement on platforms like TikTok plays a significant role in an artist's success. The company's expansion includes plans to collaborate with a wider range of musicians, artists, and digital creators while maintaining its core focus on indie artists and filmmakers. Evan Deng, an Asian-American filmmaker, points out that accessibility has always been a key part of Family Video Store's mission. 'Independent artists often face budget constraints in music video production. Our goal is to make high-quality visuals available to artists at all levels,' he said. 'Whether they are viral TikTok sensations or emerging indie artists, we provide them with the resources they need to share their stories.' In response to growing demand, Family Video Store recently filed for an official trademark and elected S-Corp status, which signals its long-term commitment to supporting musicians and visual storytellers. Evan Deng's approach to production blends traditional filmmaking techniques with experimental elements, allowing artists to create content that stands out in an increasingly crowded digital space. Evan Deng says the expansion also comes at a crucial time when social media continues to reshape the music industry. He said platforms like Instagram and TikTok have made visual content an essential part of music promotion, and Family Video Store has positioned itself at the front of this transformation. By working closely with musicians and BIPOC artists, the company is helping shape a new era of digital storytelling. 'Our approach to filmmaking isn't confined to traditional industry structures,' Evan Deng said. 'The future of music videos and digital storytelling is happening in underground music scenes, on Instagram reels, and across TikTok. We're pushing the boundaries of what's possible.' As Family Video Store expands, Evan Deng says he plans to diversify its offerings beyond music videos. Evan Deng is exploring opportunities in commercial production, short-form content, and digital media collaborations. These ventures will enable the company to support a wider range of artists while maintaining its reputation for delivering cutting-edge visual storytelling. Family Video Store continues to build on its success, providing indie artists, musicians, and filmmakers with the tools they need to reach wider audiences. About Family Video Store Family Video Store is a New York City-based music video, commercial, and digital media production company founded by filmmaker Evan Deng Deng. Specializing in storytelling for indie artists, hyperpop musicians, and record labels, the company provides creative video solutions tailored for today's digital platforms. Committed to supporting BIPOC and independent voices, Family Video Store is shaping the future of music video production. For more information, visit or follow the page on Instagram at Family Video Store is a trademarked name as of January 2025. Media Contact Company Name: Family Video Store Contact Person: Evan Deng Deng Email: Send Email Country: United States Website:
