Last month, Kikagaku Moyo closed the book on their 2019 touring campaign with the final show of what’s been a busy year for the emerging Japanese psych-rock band. Earlier on in the year, however, during the band’s European summer tour, they stopped into a sun-filled loft apartment somewhere in Brussels, Belgium to perform a private set for Highway Holidays TV, and the multi-camera recording of the day’s events was finally released earlier this week.
The pro-shot performance, which is very similar to that of a Sofar Sounds experience in which an artist sets up and plays for fans in someone’s living room, showcases the band’s 22-minute set as they open their session with “Gatherings”, one of the mystic-sounding originals from their 2018 Masana Temples album. From there, the music moves into more of a free, shapeless form, evolving from song structure into a communal exploratory jam as they even pull out a few non-traditional instruments to keep the overall tone fresh and surprising.
The remaining 15 minutes of their performance delivers a lush mix of peaks and valleys where the music glides in all directions based on where the members effortlessly decide to move it. Overall, the Kikagaku Moyo Highway Holidays set one of the better pro-shot session videos to come out this year. It makes one wonder when Bob Boilen will be able to land Kikagaku Moyo for one of his “Tiny Desk” shows.
Watch the band’s Highway Holidays TV session performance below.
Kikagaku Moyo – Highway Holidays TV
[Video: Highway Holidays TV]
The band will regroup early next year for a brief run of shows in New Zealand and Australia scheduled for February and into March. Head to Kikagaku Moyo’s website for more info.