Cross that off the bucket list

August was very slow for me. Unbearably hot in Italy. I made the decision to find shelter in London for a few days, in search of some much-needed Northern European weather. I miss it — during my four years in Brussels, I was happy to spend summer in town, while everyone else escaped to warmer places.

I also had a special mission to accomplish in London. I went to see my first Thomas Dolby concert. You know how much Dolby’s music and artistry mean to me. Thomas is a true renaissance man. I’m glad I got to meet him once, during an early Echotest show in Baltimore in 2015 (we weren’t even called “Echotest” at the time). Dolby’s concert, taking place at the legendary Shepherd’s Bush Empire, was brilliant. I got to hear some of my favourite songs (‘Budapest By Blimp’, ‘I Love You Goodbye’, ‘Airwaves’, ‘One of My Submarines’, ‘Evil Twin Brother’), and the arrangements and overall sound at the venue were spot on. It’s rare that Thomas goes out on tour, so I couldn’t miss this — and with it being an extended solo set, I knew he was going to play many of the deep cuts.

Very important: while in London, I also got to see the magnificent Monty Python foot (from the Agnolo Bronzino’s masterpiece, An Allegory with Venus).

Back in Italy, I took a train to Pesaro, a beautiful coastal town in the Marche region. I wanted to attend another special event — KAGAMI, a groundbreaking mixed reality performance created by composer Ryūichi Sakamoto. Again, you know how much I love Sakamoto (did you know that he and Dolby collaborated on a song called ‘Field Work’? Also, Dolby shared some nice words soon after Sakamoto’s passing.)

Created by legendary composer, producer, artist, and environmental activist Ryūichi Sakamoto (Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Last Emperor, The Revenant) and Tin Drum, KAGAMI represents a new kind of concert, fusing dimensional moving photography with the real world to create a never-before-experienced mixed reality presentation. Audiences will wear optically transparent devices to view the virtual Sakamoto performing on piano alongside dimensional art aligned with the music.

KAGAMI, which translates to “mirror” in Japanese, features Sakamoto playing 10 original compositions including well-known works “Energy Flow” and “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” along with rarely played pieces, such as “The Seed and the Sower.” Presented in surround sound, the experience will be both collective and individual, inviting observers to connect to the work—and each other—throughout. While audiences may view the show in a seated format, they will also be free to wander and explore during the hour-long event.

I never had a chance to see Sakamoto live in concert, so this felt like a small consolation. By any means, the experience doesn’t replace the energy of a live show. It’s something completely different but equally fascinating, and I got emotional when ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’ started… I know, it’s his most famous piece, and how cliché of me to say that. But it’s true. People even clapped at the end, including me. It felt strange. I guess it was an applause to the legacy — “art is long, life is short”, as the aphorism goes. KAGAMI feels very intimate, it isn’t a mere ode to technology, and in a sense, the traditional roles of the live performance are abandoned, as the audience seems to be a ghostly presence (with the special devices we were all wearing, people around you would almost disappear, to the point where you have to be careful not to bump into each other), and it feels like it’s only you and the artist in a room. Very special.

I’m now back home and ready to start working again. More interesting translations and different projects in the pipeline. I’m also going to play a couple of live shows here in Italy next month — October 10 at Teatro Modena in Genova and October 11 at Germi in Milan. Looking forward. And a gentle reminder that tomorrow, September 6, is Bandcamp Friday — if you haven’t already, you might choose to purchase the new Live in Luni EP. As usual, on this special occasion all proceeds from the sales go to the artists and labels.

Thanks for reading and stay well!