Tokyo's groove hipsters were out Monday night for a post-work workout to Sound Tribe Sector 9's smooth flow. Dirty back packs were strewn around the periphery of Club Quattro as latent-freak salarymen rolled up their white Oxford sleeves, swaying next to full members of a new Grateful Dead vibe.
STS9 lay down a convincing musical foundation, building slowly so that just as you start to believe, they take you to the next logical level with joyous gusto. You always know the climax is hiding right around the corner, and when it hits you are both expectant and surprised. It's all a cycling drum circle topped by whirring electronics, crashing cymbals, flute-y keyboards, rhythm scales, base bump and a big, fat grin.I've never listened to a STS9 album, but I suspect that's beside the point. You want to know what songs? Does it matter ??it's all the jam. The times I've caught them live, the band takes an appreciative audience across shifting soundscapes that keeps them shaking and swinging. It's as if Prefuse were a Steely Dan-obsessed hippy, as if Four Tet had a band at his disposal. 
Years ago, you might have called it EZ listening or mellow jazz. Now, reconfigured and relocated, it's your live lounge house band. They shimmer with and haunt their music, pulsing through slow aural explorations. More a gourmet French meal than a Thai culinary explosion; a swim in the ocean than an agro mountain bike trek, leaving you to walk into an early Fall night, refreshed rather than pumped to drink and holler the night down till morning breaks you.A stomping, syncopated request for an encore redefines voting with your feet, and STS9 return quickly for a fast paced lightning stride with gronky, percussive keyboards. And then they send the crowd out with laser gun electro that slows to a throbbing heartbeat, signaling the end to a show that was fully satisfying to both band and audience alike. |
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report by Donald and photos by yusuke |
 mag files : Sound Tribe Sector Nine Stand up and relax, it's easy (05/10/03 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : review by donald, photos by yusuke音楽に満たされた空間 (05/10/03 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : review by nob, photos by yusukephoto report (05/10/03 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : photos by yusuke流れるものは留められない (05/10/01 @ Asagiri Arena) : review by toddy, photos by hiroquiphoto report (05/10/01 @ Asagiri Arena) : photos by hiroqui |
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The official site Sound Tribe Sector Nine http://www.sts9.com/ The latest album  "Artifact: Perspectives" |
previous works check the albums? |
 2005Stand up and relax, it's easy : Sound Tribe Sector Nine (3rd Oct @ Shibuya Club Quattro)2004Hot Love from Scratch : Lee 'Scratch' Perry with Mad Professor (5th Feb @ Nishiazabu Yellow)Orchestrated Chaos : Shibusa Shirazu (10th Jan @ Shibuya O- East)2003When Madness Pays Off : British Sea Power / The DELAYS(18th Dec @ Shibuya Club Quattro)Sliding into the future... : Robert Randolph and The Family Band (9th Dec @ Shinjuku Liquid Room) |