…their eclectic mix of sounds and experiences only highlighted what some might say is a lack of focus but what others would call an openness towards any kind of music. And so in the body of elements music and side unit recordings, you’ll find ska, rock steady, steady rock, folk, waltz, zulu jive, slow balads, comedy and tragedy, political and social commentary, electronica, spoken word, melancholy, joy and despair, and probably quite a few other genres and emotions. The band is hard to pin down…
– From the elements website
Eclectic, hard to pin down and open to any kind of music. I like this sort of thing!
Alphabet Ave. is a friendly bar on Pontocho that stays open almost every night till the wee small hours. It really deserves an article of its own. My friends and I often retreat there when our other favorite bar (Joao) has closed. Anyway, every so often they have live music there. On Sunday it was the “raw” acoustic incarnation of local band elements and clearly their reputation precedes them because they were playing to a packed house. I haven’t seen “The Real” full ensemble of elements play, but this three piece of ryotaro on accordion, Yung Tsubotaj on percussion, and max on vocals and guitar, have a very nice dynamic and clearly enjoy what they do. We enjoyed it too. Even Mewby enjoyed it – and Mewby is very particular about her music. Here are a couple of videos of RAW elements in action. There’s a bit of squawking and clucking at the start of the first one but bear with it as the music soon overrides the chickens:
Some related up-coming events:
ryotaro and his magical midi-accordion will accompany the glorious Mitsu Salmon tomorrow at International Love Cabaret Vol. 6.
RAW elements will play again on Sunday April 18th from 7:30pm at El Latino. (Tel:075-751-0647) No charge!
The Real elements are playing at Urbanguild on Monday May 3rd. Please check the live schedule page on the elements website for more details.
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