Spirit Fest

The avant-indie pop supergroup Spirit Fest draws members from the Notwist and Tenniscoats into an endearing tribute to shared creativity and camaraderie. Their self-titled 2017 debut album captured the spontaneous origins of the project through an intimate yet freewheeling mix of folk, pop, and experimental improvisation, qualities that later efforts such as 2020’s Mirage Mirage and 2023’s Bear in Town expanded while keeping the music buoyant and affectionate.

Spirit Fest formed in late 2016 after Markus Acher of the Notwist asked Saya and Takashi Ueno from the Japanese indie duo Tenniscoats to perform at his Alien Disko Festival in Munich. Throughout the two weeks the visitors spent in the city, Acher, Notwist associate Cico Beck, Jam Money’s Mat Fowler, and producer Tadklimp recorded material together in an apartment studio. The singles “Hitori Matsuri” and “Rain Rain” preceded the full album’s November 2017 release on Morr.

While touring Europe behind the debut, the musicians kept writing and tracked new songs both on the road and at Acher’s home in Munich, resulting in the September 2018 album Anohito. That November the group began work on its third album at Tenniscoats’ Tokyo home studio and finished the sessions in Munich in June 2019; the completed record, Mirage Mirage, arrived in May 2020 and once more balanced structured songs with playful improvisations.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic limited travel, Spirit Fest completed a short European tour in 2021. With Saya, Takashi, Acher, and Beck together, they recorded most of the fourth album during this time, while Fowler contributed his parts remotely from Britain. Issued in September 2023, Bear in Town wove bossa nova, electronic, and folk strands into its gentle yet lively collection of tracks.