(Aired Thu 03/19/26) Mei Semones (@mei_semones) chatted with WUTC's Paul Jorgensen (Chord Drift with Paul Jorgensen) about her upcoming show at Big Ears Music Festival in Knoxville, Tenn, Saturday March 28 2026 at the Standard. Show time is 5:15 PM.
Mei spoke about her upcoming single/mini EP Kurage (on Bandcamp), which features intimate collaborations with artists like Liana Flores and John Roseboro. From the bossa nova rhythms of "Koneko" to the family connection of a track featuring her father on the euphonium, Mei explores how her music serves as a "universal language" connecting her roots in Ann Arbor and Japan to the vibrant house-show scene of Boston. Also, some airplanes flying over Brooklyn add atmospheric accoutrement to the conversation.
Enjoy!
Interview Transcript: Mei Semones in conversation with Paul Jorgensen (generated with AI)
Paul Jorgensen: Hello!
Mei Semones: Hi, how are you?
Paul Jorgensen: I'm doing well, thank you and yourself?
Mei Semones: I'm good, I'm good.
Paul Jorgensen: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me.
Mei Semones: Of course, yeah. Thank you.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, I'm... I'm very excited. When I was looking over the list of the potential people to interview from Big Ears and I saw you there, I put your name right at the top of my list.
Mei Semones: Thank you.
Paul Jorgensen: I've been really enjoying your stuff. So anyway, I don't want to lose this for the interview itself so if you would please introduce yourself to the audience?
Mei Semones: Yes. Hello, my name is Mei Semones. I'm an artist and guitarist. I live in Brooklyn, New York. Yeah, that's it.
Paul Jorgensen: Well again, thank you so much for joining me. Uh, I have been absolutely transfixed by the duet that you have... actually all of the duets you have off of your upcoming single, is it?
Mei Semones: Um, it's kind of like a really small EP. It's just three songs. Mm-hm.
Paul Jorgensen: Kurage, not Karage, right?
Mei Semones: Yes, Kurage, yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: Big difference between jellyfish and fried chicken.
Mei Semones: It's true.
Paul Jorgensen: The Liana Flores collaboration was the first one that came out on that, the first piece of that tiny EP that came out. It has just been... mmm. Before I describe it to you, can you describe that song for me and what that means to you?
Mei Semones: Yeah, I guess what the song means to me is really, um... it's kind of about my first time visiting London. I went to London for the first time April of last year to play a few shows and I was staying with Liana Flores because we were friends from before because I'd played bass in her band and opened for her the year before that, I guess. And so the song is really just about my time there and our time together and like hanging out, walking along the canal, drinking tea, eating strawberries and cookies, playing with her cat. And yeah, I wanted the song to just kind of like capture our friendship and my like fond memories of that time. Yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: And, dear listener, if you have not seen the music video for this, what Mei just described is perfectly encapsulated in that video. And it is... so going back to my kind of feeling of of both the song and the video with it, is it is like a warm hug.
Mei Semones: Aw.
Paul Jorgensen: I... I just... I just absolutely delight in it. Plus, you know, the the bossa nova influence on it is so big and I know that you're into it but also Liana's into it, so was that like intentional from the beginning that that was where you're going to go or is that where you found yourself as you were going through the process?
Mei Semones: I feel like my intention for the song was for it to be kind of more on the Brazilian, like, influence side of things in terms of my music, like the range of my music. And yeah, I was just thinking about Liana and her music and what would make sense for her and trying to write a song that I could hear us singing together and like I was thinking about her as I was writing the song. And so yeah, I think stylistically it's kind of like leaning in that direction just because of what her music sounds like and what my music sounds like and the shared points, I guess.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, and then that one kind of put up against the new duet that just got released off of that EP on Friday with you and John Roseboro.
Mei Semones: Yes, yeah yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, so I actually I just played "Tooth Fairy" on my show this morning.
Mei Semones: Thank you! Thank you so much.
Paul Jorgensen: Oh, you're welcome! So how did how did that come along?
Mei Semones: Yeah, so that song in a way the story behind it is relatively similar to the song with Liana. Kind of like the whole idea for the EP as a whole, I guess, was to write songs for different people in my life that are important to me that I wanted to collaborate with and kind of like represent our relationship and our friendship in a song. And so the song with John is similar in that way. Um, it's about a day that we had plans to meet up at a bookstore in Greenpoint, in in Brooklyn, New York. I was on my way there and we actually happened to have been on the same train to go there and so I got off the train and we were on the same platform. We like ran into each other. And he looked at me and he was like "my tooth just fell out" and he showed me in the in the palm of his hand a little tooth that had fallen out of his mouth. And I was like "oh my gosh, are you okay?" and it was like a whole thing and he was okay. He was like not in pain or anything, it was kind of just a funny thing that had happened. And so the song is kind of about that day and also just about our friendship in general. And in the same way that I was thinking about Leana when I was writing the song with her, like for "Tooth Fairy" I was thinking about John and his music as I was writing it and trying to write something that I could hear him singing.
Paul Jorgensen: I was reading John's website before coming in and one of the things in his little FAQ section he does mention about his dental issues.
Mei Semones: Yes, yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: So I don't know if you've seen it. His site is very funny.
Mei Semones: Oh, I need to I actually have not looked at that part, so I should do that.
Paul Jorgensen: It's it's very sparse, very kind of indie feeling to it, but he's got some... it was a it was a delight to read.
Mei Semones: Nice.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, so then I guess you've got one more track that's going to come out from this EP. What can we expect with that one?
Mei Semones: Yeah, so the last song is really special to me because it's actually the first piece of music that I made with my dad. He's a musician, he's been playing euphonium for most of his life and also some trombone. But mostly euphonium now. And he's not he's not like a professional musician, at least not what he does for work, but it's been something that he's always loved and been into not just playing the instrument, but also like listening to music. Like he loves a lot of different types of music and would play a lot of music around the house and and I feel like he's a big reason why I'm able to do what I'm doing today because he was always really supportive of me doing music. Like any whenever I said, like when I said I wanted to do guitar lessons he immediately got guitar lessons when he realized I was serious he immediately bought me a new guitar and like during college he bought me a new guitar... like he just has always been there and like really supporting me. So I wanted to like make a piece of music with him because I felt like it would just be a nice thing to do together as a daughter and father. I guess the the song the lyrics are not so much about him as like the other songs where like really about like Leana and about John. But the song with my dad is more about like reflecting on when I was a kid I would visit Japan every year, I guess I still visit Japan every year, but like growing up I would visit with my family and we would go to the aquarium sometimes. And so the song is kind of a lot of like aquarium imagery and like thinking about what it would feel like to be a little fish in an aquarium.
Paul Jorgensen: Uh-huh. And then is that was that the inspiration for the title of the EP, Kurage, yeah?
Mei Semones: Yes, Kurage, yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah. Nice. Uh, what part of Japan?
Mei Semones: Yeah, my mom is from Yokosuka and so we would visit my grandma in Yokosuka and she passed away like a while ago but we still have the house there so we visit there pretty often.
Paul Jorgensen: Oh, nice.
Mei Semones: Mm-hm.
Paul Jorgensen: Delightful. Uh, I lived in Tokyo for three years for work. I was in Takadanobaba so it was that university kind of thing?
Mei Semones: Yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: And I traveled all over the place and I loved it and then sadly my visa ran out and I had to come home.
Mei Semones: Oh.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah.
Mei Semones: That's awesome though. I hope I can live in Tokyo soon too.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, it's oh gosh, it's such an incredible city. We we could do a whole podcast about just how great Tokyo is. But we'll set that one aside for right now.
Mei Semones: Yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: You're originally from Ann Arbor.
Mei Semones: Mm-hm.
Paul Jorgensen: And is that where your family still lives?
Mei Semones: Yes, my parents live there still.
Paul Jorgensen: It's an interesting thing, the the music scene kind of in that area. How much of that were you involved in and how much of that has kind of been influenced how you present yourself to the world and how you perform in other venues?
Mei Semones: Yeah, I feel like the scene in Ann Arbor and in that part of Michigan... I don't know, I don't feel like I was actually that involved in it when I was living there. Like in high school I played in a couple bands and I was involved in the jazz program at my school. And so we would play gigs around town and then with my band we would do like some shows here and there and like battle of the bands, like local stuff. And then I feel like I would sometimes go to Detroit to see like jazz gigs and and play a little bit or sit in. But for the most part, I feel like I wasn't super involved in the scene. I think it did influence me mostly in the sense that my high school had a really good jazz program and that's kind of the reason why I got into playing jazz and and playing jazz guitar. So in that sense, like Ann Arbor has had a big influence on me just because of like the education system, I think. But in terms of being in a scene... like I feel like I feel more connected to the scene in Boston, like where I went to college. That's where I kind of really started to meet other artists and like playing in in friends' bands and playing shows together, like playing my own shows. I didn't really do that until Boston, so.
Paul Jorgensen: Before we leave Ann Arbor, did y'all win any of those battle of the band?
Mei Semones: Yes, we did. We won.
Paul Jorgensen: Were you were you all the band to beat? Did you like get to that level where everybody else was like gunning for y'all?
Mei Semones: I think so, maybe, but I'm also like it was a pretty there weren't really that many bands. It was like two bands, I feel like. So so it's not very it doesn't say that much, but I feel like we were definitely one of the... I like to think we were one of the better bands like in in that time in high school.
Paul Jorgensen: Well, if you would talk a little bit about uh the scene in Boston and how you connected with that.
Mei Semones: Yeah, the scene in Boston... it was really great. I feel like especially like my school was kind of interrupted by COVID, like junior year was basically all online and I went home and stuff. Um, or was it junior year? I think it was or maybe it was sophomore year. I should know this. But, you know, in the middle of college.
Paul Jorgensen: It was so long ago.
Mei Semones: It was. But then after coming back from that I feel like I really started getting into the house show scene. Like in Boston there's a lot of house shows, which is people just hosting shows in their basements. And so that was really most of the shows that I played and that's how I got started like as an artist playing my own music was at house shows. It was a really nice scene, I feel like, because it was just all of our friends. Like we'd all just play shows together and hang out and it felt pretty supportive and open and I feel like people could really play the music that they want to play. Like there was no pressure to do anything specific, it's more just like people are open to hearing like what your music is, you know?
Paul Jorgensen: Mm-hm.
Mei Semones: So yeah, I really liked it.
Paul Jorgensen: Now contrast that if you would please, because I believe that you played the big uh music festival in Japan over by Mount Fuji.
Mei Semones: Oh, it was amazing! That was I think probably to this day still the biggest show we've ever played. It was like maybe... or it's it's probably close with a different show that we did in Tokyo um this January. But it was probably like around 7,000 people or so if I had to guess. So it was a lot of people and and the location was so beautiful because the festival is like in the mountains and it's kind of like a camping festival. A lot of people camp there. And I also feel like the people who go there are there really for the music. Like I feel like some festivals, obviously it's mostly for the music, but sometimes people will go more to like party or or whatever. Like there's festivals that are like that, but Fuji Rock is really like a festival for music and for listening to music and it's like pretty family-friendly and stuff. So it was a very wholesome, sweet vibe. It was really fun.
Paul Jorgensen: And now you're going to be coming to Knoxville for Big Ears. Have have you been to Tennessee before?
Mei Semones: Um, I've only ever been to Nashville and also, have you heard of Only, Tennessee?
Paul Jorgensen: No, I haven't.
Mei Semones: I've been there because do you know Victor Wooten?
Paul Jorgensen: Yes.
Mei Semones: He has like a music camp and that's where that is. My like my high school would always go to the that music camp so I've been to Only, Tennessee like twice during high school and then Nashville a few times for shows. Okay, okay.
Paul Jorgensen: But, you know, Nashville is Nashville and then you have the rest of Tennessee. So yeah, it's uh fantastic that you're going to be playing Big Ears. And of course I have to put in the plug: anytime that you happen to be traveling between Nashville and Atlanta or you're going down to Huntsville, Chattanooga's right in the middle of all that. So it's an easy stop. I'm just saying, no pressure.
Mei Semones: No, that's good to know. That's very good to know.
Paul Jorgensen: One of the things that I was reading about is in your creative process, I guess, there's some of the music that you've done that has been kind of handed around, you know, bits and pieces here and there, and then you've kind of migrated into more of a cohesive approach to doing your music. Can you speak a little bit more about that?
Mei Semones: Yeah, like in terms of the recording process?
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah.
Mei Semones: Yeah. Yes, so I guess when we first started recording music it was more so like layer by layer. Usually it would be me first, like guitar first and then vocals and then we would record drums and bass separately from that and then put strings on at the end and kind of piece it together that way. And it was basically all to click and yeah, just a little more precise in that sense, I guess. And I think that is a good way of making music for a lot of people. But recently we've been more um trying to like main... like I guess trying to keep like the live sound of the band, so we've been recording no click and we've been recording live together and then like we all play together live and then we go back in and redo certain parts. Like we normally will keep most of the drums and bass, maybe do a little bit of comping and punching in and stuff like that. We keep most of that from like one take and then I go in and redo my guitar if I need to, maybe I'll keep some of it if I like it, and then same with strings, we'll like keep some of it if we like it and maybe redo some of it. And so I think the end result, especially with like not having click and really just trying to like basically just playing together live and like having that energy in the room and capturing that, I think the recordings end up having, in my opinion, like a little more life to them and are more representative of what we actually sound like live. For me, my favorite music is all completely live, like there's no overdubs, there's no punching in, there's none of that. And I'm not able to do that because like I'm not good enough... in my opinion, I'm not good enough to like get a whole take that I'm going to be happy with, you know, like all the way through. So it's not going to be live like completely live, but I'm trying to like maintain that feeling the best that we can, I guess. Like I guess a balance of having that feeling of being live but then also still being super polished and like the best performance possible and like really taking the pieces that we like the most and putting them together. If that makes sense.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, it does. So then when you take that out onto the road, how much then do you how much license do you give yourself to improvise based off of that or do you try to keep fairly true to the the recorded version?
Mei Semones: For me personally, I stay I stick pretty close to the recorded version just because a lot of my parts, like the guitar parts and the singing together, can be a little challenging, especially like when there's like a really involved guitar part and then I'm also singing over it. It's not really something that I can like improvise in the moment, like I kind of just have to like play like I'm going to try to play it in the best way that I can and it's obviously a little bit different every time depending on how I'm feeling that day and like how the performance how I choose to perform it, but like the parts stay the same, I would say. But I think with my band there's a lot more flexibility there, like they will definitely improvise more than me, especially the rhythm section I feel like play around a little bit more. And the strings too, like they have their parts but they'll definitely experiment and try new things. And so in that sense, I feel like it does change over time as we play it live. And also as a whole, like the tempo might shift a little bit, we might start playing it a little faster or we might like make a new intro for it or new outro or add like a bass solo in or drum solo and yeah, stuff like that.
Paul Jorgensen: If you go and look at your website, I think I think the the title of it is "Alternative Indie J-Pop". And then of course you get tagged a lot with jazz. And then also uh the bossa nova. And I think somebody asked you about jazz and how it's coming back and I think your response to them was jazz never went away, it was always here, maybe it's having a little bit of a moment but it was always here. Do you feel it's the same way with the bossa nova and that kind of South American influence you have to a lot of your songs?
Mei Semones: That's interesting. Yeah, I mean I guess I do think it's the same. Like when people say "jazz is is like how do you feel about jazz coming back," it does feel a little silly because I'm like "no, it's I know what they're trying to I know what they're getting at," like that it's becoming more popular again... like I do understand that and I see that. But I think the way that it's said sometimes I'm like "no, it's actually people have been doing this for a really long time" and and it feels like a maybe a little bit how do you say... not offensive but like disregarding what has been happening this whole time to say it's coming back.
Paul Jorgensen: Dismissive.
Mei Semones: Dismissive, yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah.
Mei Semones: But I guess with bossa nova and like I don't know, I honestly don't feel like I know enough about Brazilian music, like current Brazilian music, to or even like old Brazilian music either just in general to really say. But I would be inclined to say the same thing. Like when people say that it's coming back, I'm like "no, it's probably been around the whole time, it's just now is more more in the mainstream, maybe".
Paul Jorgensen: And I think part of it too, at least the the interview that I was reading, you know, it comes from a very US-centric position. And so that can always be a challenge in that the US, as much as we might like to think it, we are not the center of the cultural universe, right?
Mei Semones: Right, yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: So that kind of brings me to the next question which is with this international viewpoint that you have... most Americans don't, for example, have a passport. They don't even think about traveling internationally, but you are very international in your approach. So what for those folks who don't think in that more global context, what do you hope that they're taking away from the experience of listening to your music?
Mei Semones: Mmm. Yeah, that's a good question. I don't know, I guess I think and I think most people think this but music is like a universal language, you know? And so people who are listening to it who, you know, might not know Japanese, might not ever think about going to Japan, might not ever think about leaving the country... I would hope that listening to it... I think it's fine if they never want to leave America or if they, you know, like that's okay. But just being open and kind and like maybe learning just learning to think about other people's perspectives and other people's cultures and stuff like that is maybe what I would think of if if people were going to take something away from my music in that sense, just like learning to appreciate other other cultures that they might not know about, maybe. Yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: I talked a little bit about how your website describes your music and some of the other phrases. If you were to use three nouns that are not music related, which ones would you use to describe your music?
Mei Semones: Three nouns that are not music related? Oh wow. That's hard. Especially because it's a noun. I'm.
Paul Jorgensen: Well, I mean, any you could use a small phrase, you can use an adjective I guess if you want. A verb.
Mei Semones: Hmm. Maybe... is this is "detail" would count as a noun, maybe?
Paul Jorgensen: Oh sure, yeah.
Mei Semones: Detail. Then the other words that I think of are all like adjectives, like.
Paul Jorgensen: Well, go for it. Go for it.
Mei Semones: Maybe like "dynamic," "intricate," "honest".
Paul Jorgensen: Those are some that come to mind. I believe all of those. Yes, very good. I've only got a few more minutes with you, unfortunately, but I hope that I'm going to be seeing you up at in Knoxville next week. I'm very excited about going and and seeing you, of course. Can you talk to me for a minute about the importance of public media and public radio and like independent music, uh college radio, that kind of thing?
Mei Semones: Yeah. Um, I don't know, I think it's really important, especially right now with um the way that streaming and TikTok and all of those things are. I think that being able to find music in other ways and more through like community and friends and word of mouth and people that you know I think is a really special way of sharing music and I think it's really important. Yeah.
Paul Jorgensen: Now are you more of a of an analog person? Do you have like a bunch of MP3s kicking around? Are you a big streamer? What is your or is it some combination thereof?
Mei Semones: I would say it's a combination. Like definitely when I'm out and about I am just streaming because it's like the easiest thing. Um, but when I'm at home I have like vinyl and stuff that I listen to.
Paul Jorgensen: Mm-hm. I just as an aside, it was very excited today in our in our live studio over here, we have two turntables, but we're in temporary studios right now. And only one of the turntables for like a year has worked. And on Friday, I finally figured out why the other one didn't work. So today I got to spin records one right after the other in there. It was so satisfying. Oh, felt so good.
Mei Semones: That's awesome.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, I guess is there another artist or act or somebody that you think our listeners should check out?
Mei Semones: Mmm. Have you heard of... or I guess we have we just talked about this earlier, but I was going to say John Roseboro. Um, his music that he has released, I think is really beautiful and I find it really comforting, so I think other people might too. So I'd recommend that.
Paul Jorgensen: Okay, okay. Well, Mei, thank you so much for talking with me. This has been a real treat.
Mei Semones: Yeah, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
Paul Jorgensen: Yeah, and I hope you travel safe and uh look forward to seeing you next week.
Mei Semones: Thank you. Yeah, see you in Knoxville.
Paul Jorgensen: Sounds good. Bye-bye.
Mei Semones: Bye.
Transcript generated with AI and spot edited.
