DANPYUNSUN AND THE SAILORS (London Rich Mix, 21/10/16)
 

So, apparently Jambinai are far from the only alternative band of note from South Korea at the moment. I discovered these avant-garde indie-rockers on the K-Music Month Spotify playlist a couple of weeks back, and they struck me as a band I nedded to see live. And in that I was correct, even though some of their songs are a little middle-of-the-road for my tastes. Danpyunsun is a hilarious, deadpan frontman, even when jetlagged to hell, and their riveting, no-holds-barred performance is up there with the most energetic I've seen in 2016. Well worth checking out, for sure.

HANNAH EPPERSON (London Slaughtered Lamb, 20/10/16)

Looped violins and birthday cake from the talented Julianna Barwick collaborator, whose spawling, absorbing compositions mark her out as a talent to keep an eye on.

OPERATORS (London Lexington, 18/10/16)

Any band involving Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner is always going to be one hell of a beast, but Operators might well be his best side-project yet, marrying the zest and energy of the Handsome Furs to electrifying synth-rock and tremendous live drumming. One of the best London debuts I've seen this year.

YUMI ZOUMA (London Oslo, 17/10/16)

Pleasant enough dream-pop from New Zealand, with a couple of standout songs going someway to make up for a lack of variety.

HOLY FUCK (London Village Underground, 15/10/16)

A holy fuckin' great show from the Toronto electro-rock quartet, who can still inspire a dance party even when playing an absurdly early time-slot. One of the few shows I've seen recently that I genuinely wish had been longer.

SWANS (London Islington Assembly Halls, 13/10/16)

Review: HERE

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY (London Brixton Academy, 12/10/16)

Review: HERE

SYMPHONIC FANTASIES (London Barbican, 06/10/16)

There's no one person more responsible for my deep and enduring love of music than Nobuo Uematsu, the composer behind the "Final Fantasy" series. Since I first played FFVII at the age of eleven and heard the synthesized church bells of "Flowers Blooming In The Church" I've obsessively gorged on his soundtracks and the various arranged albums built around thhem. I've religiously attended every concert of his music put on in this country - the "Distant Worlds" series more purist and faithful to the original compositions, the "Symphonies" taking familiar melodies and leitmotifs and re-arranging them into exciting new forms. I've even met him in person, leading to the only time in my life where I've genuinely been star-struck.

 But I've always secretly hoped that I'd get to hear a concert showcasing from some of his lesser-known but similarly brilliant contemporaries, most notably Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross/Xenogears), Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts) and Hiroshi Sakimoto (FFXII/FF Tactics/Vagrant Story). I'm still waiting for that Sakimoto concert, but Symphonic Fantasies offered me the opportunity to witness Mitsuda and Shimomura performed by no less than the London Symphony Orchestra - and it was just as elatory an experience as I could have anticipated.

The first half comprised of two works, one based around Kingdom Hearts, the other around Hiroki Kikuta's "Secret of Mana" soundtrack. To my surprise, though the former symphony engaged the old nostalgia glands right from the start with the simple, beautiful piano line of "Dearly Beloved", it was latter that ultimately proved the stronger work, with its masterful use of choir and unexpected sound effects, including that of a tropical rain storm.

But it was inevitably the second half that truly shined, with a Mitsuda medley that wove together a smorgasbord of classic Chrono tracks- not least Scars Left By Time, Gale, Frog's Theme, Magus' Theme, To Far Away Times and Peaceful Days. What has always differentiated Mitsuda's work from most VGM composers is his passion for world music, and the effect that has on his melodies, his rhythms and his instrumentation - and thus giving a starring role to the effervescent red-coated darbouka virtuoso Rony Barrak and his percussive brilliance was a masterstroke. After that, a conservatively arranged work based around Uematsu's themes felt a little underwhelming, especially compared to what was showcased during the Final Symphony concerts (in fairness, this program predates those by several years), but there's no denying the hold those classic themes have over my psyche.

As is standard for these concerts, an "unannounced" encore wrapped up proceedings- and delightfully, it comprised a medley of final boss themes from the various games represented tonight. "One Winged Angel" and "Dancing Mad" are inevitably the focus of the piece, but hearing 80 or so primly-dressed choristers intone "LAVOS!" with appropriately apocalyptic volume may have been my personal highlight.

All in all, it probably didn't hit quite hit the heady heights of Final Symphony II - which was one of the best concerts I've ever attended in any medium - but just hearing the Chrono piece alone was well worth the price of admission. A superb performance, and one that makes me excited about what the organisers will come up with next.

JAMBINAI (London Oslo, 03/10/16)

Every time I see Jambinai, they get a little less post-rock and a little more metal. Which isn't a criticism by any means, as their fusion of the harder edge of Western music with traditional South Korean instrumentation remains as potent as ever.

STARS OF THE LID (London Barbican, 02/10/16)

Although they're almost indistinguishable from their sister band A Winged Victory For The Sullen these days (no bad thing), Stars of the Lid's beautiful orchestral ambience and stunning projections - which look breathtaking from the back of the Barbican Hall- provide the perfect soundtrack to a most agreeable Sunday evening.

MERZBOW (London Cafe Oto, 01/10/16)

The sound of a tiny kitten skipping lightly over a sea of rose petals. Or forty-five minutes of unrelenting harsh noise being blasted in my direction, and every other direction, and possibly in directions not as yet discovered by even the most intrepid scientists. A not entirely unpleasant experience oddly enough, but one that left me in a weird daze for some time afterwards.

THE GOON SAX (London Shacklewell Arms, 27/09/16)

A scrappy but endearing set from the maudlin Australian three-piece, whose wistful lo-fi melancholy compensates for their lack of polish.