Live Review: Cornelius Presents Salyu X Salyu, Sui Zhen

Fresh from helping out No Zu with their set at Sugar Mountain this afternoon, Sui Zhen now deals a classy set of minimal, lo-fi, electronic-pop that oozes dreamy Balearic vibes set to the deep throb of slow-motion beats.

Zhen’s vocals drift across the mix with a certain innocence and purity, stretching our minds across Infinity Street. Tonight Zhen is joined by a couple of players, Alec Marshall on guitar and Ashley Bundang who assists Zhen with keys and drum machine. The deep vibes provide a soft, easy point of entry into the evening. Zhen’s music intrigues many in the room who will no doubt track down her album Secretly Susan, which is scheduled for release this year.

Apart from the J-pop aficionados among us, Australian audiences probably know very little about Japanese vocalist Salyu, aka Mori Ayako.  Historically speaking, Salyu started out as Lily Chou-Chou in 2001 when the ethereal Kaifuku Suru Kizu was selected for the Kill Bill soundtrack. Evolving into Salyu, she has released four solo albums but it’s somewhat overlooked Salyu x Salyu album S(o)un(d)beams, which  she produced with super-producer Cornelius, that is the focus of tonight’s show. 

Looking extremely glamorous in a pristine white party dress and heels to match, Salyu stands in front of a table of electronic gear all of which is at her fingertips to loop and extend her voice in experimental tangents. The title track S(o)un(d)beams kicks off the show to mesmerising effect as Salyu shows off with some of the most amazing vocal gymnastics  we have heard in a very long time. Salyu is joined by two other vocalists who add layers of complexity and intensity to the mix, easily matching Salyu’s manoeuvres. Amusingly, Salyu goes a little cross-eyed when hitting those difficult to reach notes, but on all accounts the sound delivered is nothing short of astonishing.

The outfit present a tight, precise and primarily electronic sound that moves experimentally across jazz and J-pop, modernising and future-proofing it for the 21st century. Salyu’s drummer plays an electronic drum kit while one of her backing vocalists provides growly Mini Moog textures. Salyu’s other backing vocalist adds percussion while she sings and even has her own microphone for handclaps and finger snaps. Cornelius plays it very low-key as he almost anonymously provides lightly jazzy and South American-inspired grooves on his guitar. The slick, pristine sound of this evening’s show bears the hallmark of his auteurish production style. Cornelius’ reputation clearly precedes him and it is undeniable that he has drawn many here tonight.

The abstraction of tunes like ただのともだち absorbs Salyu’s Japanese language lyrics by focusing on the sounds of syllables rather than the actual meaning of words. It’s a move that allows the largely English-speaking crowd to access the music on a slightly different level to the fervent expats in the front row. This is perhaps a good thing as the saccharine May You Always brings the night down on a sweet but sentimental note.