![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thunderguy.com\/bennett\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/uncutapple.jpg\" "\\"Inside")
<\/a>Ben Kemp<\/a> is a very nice Kiwi musician who has lived in Japan for some time now. He has gotten together with a group of Japanese musicians to form his band. The music works really well live — they go for extended soundscapes built around each song, with Kemp’s voice sometimes acting as another instrument. The mood ranges from gentle and contemplative to a bit more noisy and experimental on some tracks, where they might try to evoke the sound of the sea or a storm. It’s hypnotic stuff.<\/p>\nBetween songs he tells how the songs came to be, and also shares some stories about himself. The show was nice and intimate — at one point he brought out a couple of bottles of Japanese liquor (sake and umeshu) and passed them around the audience. You can’t much more chilled-out than that.<\/p>\n
Ben Kemp looks like a rugby player, but he has the most delicate falsetto voice and a rather poetic songwriting touch. His band, Uminari, are tight and very cool in a quirky Japanese way, especially the drummer who is so … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thunderguy.com\/bennett\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/annacoddington.jpg\" "\\"Anna")
<\/a>The curtain-raiser for the evening was Anna Coddington<\/a>. She played a set of her own melodic, heartfelt songs while accompanying herself on the guitar. She has an engaging stage presence and a good sense of humour, she’s good-looking and slightly quirky, and her lovely voice suits the songs perfectly. I was also impressed by her guitar playing: Some singers just play a few chords to accompany themselves, but she got a lot of different sounds and textures out of her instrument without ever overshadowing the songs. I think in a fair world she should be a superstar, or at least a star. Her album comes out in a month or so, so maybe she will be!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"