Mabe Fratti / Asa-Chang & Junray

Combining free improvisation and song in a set full of plot twists, Mabe Fratti and company present a show of several tracks from her repertoire of the last five years that range from sounds that feel like prog rock or experimental rock, to more ambient and meditative music. The music includes sounds of processed cello, vocals, processed vocals, processed electric guitar and drums. The sound sways between what some people would consider brutalism and classic beauty: the vocals of Fratti make a lead with melody, making extended techniques, basslines and classical sounds with cello processed with different pedals; I. La Católica uses the guitar in a myriad of ways going from classical shredding to eerie vocoder sounds and beautiful 193 riffs; and Gibrán Andrade’s sense of rhythm goes from straightforward beats to weird-tempo improvisation. The combination of these three members creates a strange and colourful musical landscape.

ASA-CHANG & Junray create music that shifts between extremes: heavy, distorted and hauntingly beautiful, or light, playful and exuberant. This tension yields a kind of true pop music that balances immediate accessibility with a sharp critical sensibility. Central to their practice is the Junraytronics machine, a unique sampling and compositional device that enables precise rhythmic manipulations and rich, layered textures. Emerging from Tokyo’s underground in the late nineties, ASA-CHANG & Junray have cultivated a singular sound that draws on classical Indian percussion, ambient electronics, musique concrète, and traditional Japanese forms. For this concert ASA-CHANG & Junray is joined by Yoshihiro Goseki and Sena Oshima expanding the project’s sonic and performative scope.