“Who Are We to Say We Are Not Enough?”: Presenting Ena Mori
This article is part of SCAD Radio’s SXSW collection, in which some of our radio members visited the music portion of the SXSW Festival and Showcase in Austin, TX.
In a medium-to-small dark bar with a stage set up in the corner of the room, to which a group of people started to crowd around, appeared a woman with an eye-catching silhouette. She looked like a Victorian next-door-type-of-girl ghost who got trapped within a Scott Pilgrim universe, donning a baby blue lace-sleeved nightgown and vibrant red hair with multiple space buns. Accompanied by a fellow drummer, this turned out to be the musician and act of the night: Ena Mori.
A Japanese/Philipino artist, Ena Mori is one of those hyphenated musicians. Mixing different influences into her overall pop sound, she can be described as art-pop, synth-pop, indie-pop, dream-pop, and the list goes on. From her attire and how she carries herself (and from the fact that she brought her stuffed octopus plushie to decorate the stage,) I expected nothing less of an eccentric- and most importantly- authentic performance. What really drew me into this concert was the playful energy she brought, which is impressive considering that Mori mentioned it took her 33 grueling hours to get from the Philippines to Austin, Texas.
More extensively, I fell in love with Ena Mori that night because of how she made me and others feel included and seen just by singing about her insecurities, taking the time between songs to talk about her mindset behind such songs. Some of these songs include “TALK! TALK!” where Mori discusses how the song is about talking to herself, not due to isolation brought by the pandemic, but from the fact that she has a lack of friends. Another song, “KING OF THE NIGHT!” is about her being a geek in high school and considering herself a loser. It’s through her lyrics and choice of talking points for the audience that one can see how much introspective thought Mori puts into herself. However, her superpower is turning those introspective thoughts and insecurities into self-realizing anthems, raising the energy of the stage and crowd through her facial expressions and longing arms that reach out into the air. This goes to show just how much Mori feels every lyric she has written in her own imaginary company.
Getting deeper into the night, the energy and self-love from Ena Mori came out more and more throughout the set. And as a perfect conclusion, Mori sang “WHITE ROOM” to close out the set, encouraging the crowd the clapping of hands and repetition of the lyric: “who are we to say that we are not enough?” As one final burst, Mori outs all her emotions by proudly beating a floor tom and releasing the drumsticks to the floor like a mic drop. A percussionist at heart, Mori not only lets the banging of the drums, cowbell, and tambourine resonate throughout the crowd, but her words and personality as well. If you enjoy the likes of Japanese Breakfast ,with the vocal modifications of Remi Wolf, and the music production of MUNA, then you are heading towards the path of Ena Mori.
