CORNELIUS
An old favorite keeps poking at sound
May we all stare down the inevitable prospect of aging like Keigo Oyamada. The artist better known as Cornelius took to the Green Stage on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Fuji Rock to present Mellow Waves, as the intro screen. That’s the name of his latest full-length album, his first since 2006, one that finds an artist long known for his precision when it comes to sounds getting a bit more loose, ruminating on the past and eyeing the future while still finding new ways to twist his sound. Yet this wasn’t a front to back play through, but rather a set where his reflective fare brushed up against highlights from his past, making for an especially intriguing performance that found Oyamada looking back while also taking stock of now.
The new songs stand out from the bulk of his older material, as they are less in a hurry and more prone to wander, which stands in stark contrast to a guy who in the mid 2000s toured the world with a live show where every single sound was synched to an accompanying image. But joined by a band of three others, all of them clad in black and white, the songs from this year’s Mellow Waves allowed room to wander. Which isn’t to say Cornelius’ has ignored how everything fits together — set opener “Sometimes / Someplace” glided forward with every syllable and bass blurt ratcheted into place. Yet that one also gave Oyamada space to play an extended guitar solo (looking, might I add, cool while sporting sunglasses near sunset), cutting through all that organization and giving life to these songs. It was especially needed on closer “If You’re Here,” a stretched-out song featuring acoustic guitar and clipped drum beats, prone to passages of what felt like jamming.
Yet this is a summer festival, and Oyamada and company brought out a fair share of older Cornelius’ songs to play too. It’s a tightrope walk, though, to bring out the familiar numbers, especially for a project such as Cornelius, where visuals have long played a central role in concert. Cuts from Oyamada’s deconstructed period in the 2000s, such as the sample-heavy “Fit Song” and the funky “Drop,” saw videos that appeared on the aforementioned mid-Aughts tour playing behind them, the music matched up to the images. While this remained a nifty trick, it also felt like a little too much of a throwback…or a recyclable…given the “back after more than a decade narrative.” Plus, they felt a bit limp in the fact of “Count Five Or Six’s” dizzying found-footage barrage and matching number screens, which felt fitting for a big fest. Or Mellow Waves trippiest moment, the vocally filtered “Helix / Spiral,” matched by visuals mimicking the way Oyamada maps out songs before recording.
Ultimately, the lasting memory of Cornelius at Fuji Rock 2017 will be of a long-running artist who has always dissected his music on a molecular level continue to poke, both at newer songs as they continue to solidify and at older material, finding fresh angles to fan favorites such as “Star Fruits Surf Rider.” A pretty solid way to grow older.
