Fjej
Punk Rock, Cosmic, and Electric
I’m getting that happy feeling again. The kind that makes me scream out loud, want to dance around the room, and puts a really big smile on my face. I photographed Ffej with the group Tempered Steel at Seaprog Fest in 2014 in the front room of the Columbia City Theater. I remember being fascinated by the array of sounds they were creating. Last night I had the chance to see Ffej perform solo at the Blue Moon Tavern. Unlike a lot of the musicians who know him well I had no idea what to expect. The stage was crowded with effect pedals, instruments, and a couple of stands for the bands that were going to play later. When Ffej walked up on stage, iPad attached to one hand, I started hearing a layer of sounds emanating from the stage. Fjej started singing to the electronic tones. In my experience with this type of music, sometimes artists are just really chilled performance wise. Ffej’s set was far from this. For a brief moment I was reminded of watching Nik Turner perform. It felt punk rock, cosmic, and electrical. I wanted to dance but Seattle crowds don’t dance (smile) and thus I resisted the urge to dance alongside him. Dancing alone is no fun - then maybe next time I’ll say “who cares”. I focused on the task of framing the energy of Ffej. The result was his feet elevated off the ground. You all know I love a good drummer shot, but Ffej in mid-air was one of many joys from last night.