Cornelius
Photo by Stevo Rood

Santa Monica Pier plays host to this progressive band from Japan. September 25 2019 by Stevo Rood

From the video channel of Wero Torres

Keigo Oyamada is also known by his full band moniker Cornelius. Oyamada is a Japanese musician and producer who co-founded Flipper’s Guitar, an influential Shibuya-kei band, and subsequently embarked on a solo career. In 1997, he released the album Fantasma, which landed him praise from American music critics, who called him a “modern-day Brian Wilson” or the “Japanese Beck”.

A performing musician since his teens, Oyamada created his creative alter-ego (the name is an homage to the Planet of the Apes), in the early 1990s. Cornelius subsequently became one of the most sought after producer/remixers in the world, working with a wide range of artists including Blur, Beck, Bloc Party, MGMT, and James Brown.

A full gallery of photos from this show by Stevo Rood are available here.

The band came to America and played on September 24 in Los Angeles at the Echoplex, and returned on the 25th to perform on the Santa Monica pier. The band is a progressive band playing what Americans might consider Math Rock, with tight orchestrations and precise playing focusing on technique.

During the show the audience was handed flags from different nations to wave during the show, which was a cool and welcoming vibe. There was a pretty good crowd for them, and the band really responded with a great performance focusing on their significant skills.

From the video channel of Claude Zachary

SET LIST:

01 Opening (Mic Check)
02
03 Audio Architecture
04 Smoke
05 Another View point
06 Count 5 or 6
07 I Hate Hate
08 Point of View Point
09 Drop
10 Helix/Spiral
11
12 Beep it
13 Fit Song
14 Gum
15 Star Fruits Surf Rider
16 

A full gallery of photos from this show by Stevo Rood are available here.

Hit us up at [email protected] to submit a show review or story.