October 2016: After a string of exciting workshops and performances in Shenzhen and Guangzhou in South China, Fabio, Peppe and Marco are picking their way through an audience in Hong Kong. They are Mothra, a formidable trio of musicians from Italy, and they are about to take us on a sonic voyage.
In their own words “Mothra is a giant moth, the monstrous God of peace of the Japanese cinema, which first appeared on the screens in 1961. It reveals its devastating powers only when its environment is violated or when her friend/enemy Godzilla becomes evil. Its wings, symbol of an intangible lightness, are transformed into lethal weapons with which gives rise to hurricanes.”
The first notes are haunting. Fabio lightly probing, testing, emerging, a flute pulse, Peppe’s oud setting a scene modern and yet timeless and Marco gently coaxing, encouraging on the percussion and I’m - we’re - transported. North Africa, Europe, Asia – impossible to separate.
Says Fabio “we are joined by extra-European musical approaches: I play flute but also bansuri flute, duduk, danmoi and fujara; (Marco) Zanotti plays percussions and other instruments from Africa like mbira and kamalengoni, Andean drums and objects; (Peppe) Frana plays Turkish oud, in particular an electric variant as well as the lute, Afghan rabab and other plectrum instruments”.
“A moth as a symbol of fragility that can unleash an irrepressible force: the three musicians combine these contrasts through music in a constantly changing world that, through mutual listening and improvisation, can be delicate and introspective but also a furious release.”
Mothra are committed to making music through collective improvisation. They feed, and take direction off each other and the audience creating a oneness in the room, a singular driving force that unites us.
For all of us - Mothra, Vintage Vinyl HK and Platinum Metres, the production of this record has been a journey and an evolution. The music presented here is improvised, live, and produced with the aim of bringing Mothra to you unadulterated and at their peak. Enjoy.
Nick Langford 2018
