Pagode Mandala

Eric and Rie are back in town, which means the gigs are back on. Literally the day after their return, Mandala did a one-man show at Pagode. Eric looked beat, but he seemed to enjoy himself as always. It was small intimate setting which encouraged much back and forth with the audience. When asked if the lyrics to the songs he composes are in varied languages, he replied that it is generally a lot like scat, the voice taking the part of a instrument, though some of the words are related to the fifteen languages he's been exposed to on his trips. He actually said, "My lyrics have no meaning," and I immediately thought, neither do the lyrics to most pop songs. At one point in the night, with about five or six songs looping and forming their own helix patterns of rhythm, he got up mid-song to greet a friend, toasting him with his beer. He laughed and said, "That's the great thing about looping. I can walk around, chat with friends, drink beer--and the music keeps on going."
Mandala will be playing gigs throughout Kyoto until the end of the year. Catch 'em if you can...

http://www.mandalaworldmusic.com/indexnew2.htm


On the turntable: Groove Armada, "The Best of..."