Moon Duo – Like Being Awake Inside Dream
The pysch-synth power duo you need to know
The best kept secret in our music line up, Moon Duo are landing in Perth as part of their Australian 2020 tour with their show The Lightship and introducing their incredible new album with disco flavours Stars Are The Light.
Since 2009 the duo have experimented with an array of instrumental, psychedelic and synth-electro sounds, sharing vocals between them across their seven studio albums and several EPs.
Moon Duo aren't tied down to a specific genre, drawing influence from new-wave psychedelia of the 70s and 80s to disco and funk and from weather cycles and natural elements.
Experience The Lightship
Have we mentioned their live show features immersive scenography and light design from Manchester-based artistic maverick, Emmanual Biard?
As one of the great minds on the world-wide visual arts and lighting scene, expect to see Moon Duo's stage set up influenced by his unique designs, such as that of below ("The Testudo", designed and built for The Warehouse Project).
Image: Benny van der Plank
Who are they?
Erik ‘Ripley’ Johnson
Considered a pioneer of 21st Century psychedelic rock by many, has played in many different projects over the years, the most prominent two being Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo. Ripley has started multiple projects, carving a path in the world of experimental sound since the 90s, one project often referenced as consisting of “non-musicians” in San Francisco in 2006. His idea was to create a primitive psychedelic sound with players who weren’t inclined to be constrained by traditional training and chord progressions.
Sanae Yamada
She’s a dynamic keyboard player/vocalist who’s playing ranges from the psychedelic cross-genre exploration of Moon Duo to the ethereal layered synth of her solo project Vive la Void. Having created music much of her life, it only made sense to continue with the experimental exploration that came with the creation of Moon Duo with Ripley (her husband) in 2009 when the two wanted to perform without the additional members of a full band.
Who are they influenced by?
The Velvet Underground, Suicide, The Stooges
You'll love them if you like ...
Wooden Shjips (Ripley Johnson), Psychic Ills, Follakzoid, The Warlocks, Thee Oh Sees, POND, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Vive la Void