Jazz and joy in June: Wen Pei opening for Mei Semones at The Corner Hotel (ft. aron!)

When I first found out US-based musician Mei Semones would be doing a Melbourne show on my birthday, my only thought was that this truly was a concert written in the stars. Her partner aron! – another artist I adore – was also playing a show two days prior. But it was when Wen Pei Low – a local singer-songwriter (and fellow SYN vol!) I had been following since seeing her live last year – announced she would be opening for Mei Semones. I knew this birthday weekend was one gifted to me by the universe.

 

Pictured left to right: aron!, Mei, Wen Pei and Alex (Credits: Ash Yang)

 

Emotions and excitement were already high come Sunday – I had just seen aron! and opener FELIVAND play at The Toff two days prior. aron! and Mei Semones recently released a track together, ‘Macrame’, which, in a turn of events, saw Wen Pei and her partner/accompanist Alex make a special appearance and perform it with him at The Toff! Seeing them perform one of my favourite songs together made my heart melt, and it truly was the cutest celebration of love on stage.

aron!, Wen Pei and Alex performing ‘Macrame’ at The Toff (Credits: me!)

 

The celebration continued on Sunday 14th June at the Corner Hotel where I watched Wen Pei open for Mei Semones! I was first introduced to Wen Pei at the opening night of the exhibition Limitless Play at No Vacancy Gallery, where she played alongside a legendary lineup of three other Asian-Australian artists. So, while I mostly knew what to expect – knowing that the crowd for the most part were perhaps about to experience her work for the first time, had me bubbling in giddy anticipation. Her opening set began with ‘Gray Skies’ –  these warm, hypnotic strings played by Alex and Justin on violin, and Lucy on cello – it felt like the crowd were being whispered a secret, one I felt so lucky to already know. 

 

Wen Pei introduces her set as one that is a chronological recount of her songwriting, beginning with songs she wrote as a teenager all the way to now. Sung in English, Mandarin and Hokkien – she emphasises how important it is to her to sing in dialect. I would describe Wen Pei’s music as sounding like how a windy breeze feels – nature themes often find their way into a lot of her lyrics and melodies. A personal stand out of mine was Seagull Song, which opens with the most accurate seagull noises I’ve ever heard, effortlessly impersonated by the string players. This lilting tune, one of the more livelier ones in the set, sung with Wen Pei’s gentle warm voice had the crowd swaying side to side like the ocean waves. 

 

Wen Pei’s set created such a warm, safe atmosphere at The Corner Hotel with the loving eye contact between her and Alex, her smiling band and sunny melodies. So it was quite jarring to hear the story behind her Hokkien song “汝 (You)” – and their experience performing in Singapore with her partner Alex as a queer couple. They recounted a less than welcoming response to their relationship from family in Singapore. While she jokes about this song having been deemed by her as the “wlw (women-loving-women) yearning song”, the mood felt somber as the song began. The pain, loneliness and for lack of better word, yearning could be felt so deeply – especially to hear this song in dialect truly made it feel all the more personal.

 

After this song, I could really appreciate and understand her second song played, ‘Changes’ where she sings lyrics:

 

“I wished away my luck, one day when I grew up

 when I realised I wanted to be a person of my own”. 

 

I could feel that her set whisked the crowd away into a daydream and found a place in the hearts of each person listening that night. It seems that Wen Pei tapped into a universal experience, yet expressed it in such a personal way - as the best art does, which made us feel less alone.

 

Lucy (cello), Wen Pei and Alex at The Corner Hotel (Credits: Ash Yang)

 

***

This could only be perfectly followed by Mei Semones beginning her set with the lines: 

 

悲しくないよ

I’m not sad.

 

寂しくないよ

I’m not lonely.

 

いつもいつもいつも

Always, always, always.

 

These lyrics are from her song “Itsumo” (always) and fall into place after with a classic Mei guitar run. A perky and samba-like tune, played by the band and Mei clad in sports merch (namely a Knicks jersey and gold-green Australia tee) whose opening lines are a message to the crowd that tonight, again, you are not alone. It was easy to feel this way amongst the crowd who were not just listening, but feeling every flourishing note of Mei’s melodies – applause and cheers following every crazy riff and scale. A characteristic of Mei’s work is that her songs end with a heavier sound than they begin. While at first ‘Itsumo’ sounds like a soft jazzy samba paired with her pure and gentle voice - it creeps into an heavy indie-rock fusion with a half-time feel, that the crowd goes from tapping their feet to slow head banging.

 

Mei Semones at The Corner Hotel (Credits: me!)

 

The setlist featured mostly tracks from her debut album ‘Animaru’, released in May 2025,  which she explains at the start of the set is the Japanese pronunciation of ‘Animal’. In tandem with Wen Pei’s set, Mei Semones sings in both Japanese and English, with themes of nature and animals in her lyrics. My favourite track of hers ‘Zarigani’ (Lobster) was a gem to hear live. It balances her jazz and indie rock styles perfectly – and I can imagine a pair of lobsters underwater scuttling along like Mei scatting on top of her plucking guitar riffs. 

 

Gentle confidence is how I would describe her performance style – her lyrics and melodies take up space and aren’t afraid to grow louder in each song. She doesn’t speak much in between songs, only a simple ‘Thank you’–which feels even more  empowering to hear these songs played with such conviction from such a soft-spoken person. This is reflected perfectly in her final song played during the encore, which is also the last song on her album. ‘Sasayaku Sakebu’ (literally meaning ‘Whisper shout’) features these lyrics in the final chorus:

 

“叫ぶ僕のメロデイ

My melody I shout

 

君が好き

You like it

 

I will yell, this is my melody. It means something. 

It’s all I have. It's everything, my melody. 

It means something to me.”

 

***

Wen Pei and Mei Semones taught me the power of quietness. That whispering melodies can be just as impactful as yelling - and one doesn’t need to choose between the two of them. Everyone deserves to express their melodies how it suits them. Whether you are someone of few words or a yapper, there is always someone who will listen to and like your melodies. 

 

You can listen to Asian Pop Nation’s interview with Wen Pei (and Alex!) here.

 

Follow Mei Semones (@mei_semones) and Wen Pei (@_waterclover) on Instagram here.