Spirited in Rotterdam, Netherlands - After Tour Interview with Murky Ghost & TenderG

Apr-28-2023

Photo by Kair Chen

Murky Ghost is a rap/spoken word artist who has created a modern poetry-rap style in Taiwan. Her style combines rap with spoken words and transforms the echoes of the soul into lyrics. She is known for her emotionally intense performances that transcend musical genres. Her live performances are experimental and represent lost souls in the contemporary world.


TenderG, also known as Mao Rui, was a member of the disbanded rap group Yellow Hippy and is skilled in the improvisational stream-of-consciousness rap style. Recently, a six-member group led by Murky Ghost went to Rotterdam, Netherlands, to perform at the MOMO Festival for a one-week residency. MOMO Festival in Rotterdam, in conjunction with LUCfest, presented the artist.  

Taiwan Beats had the chance to sit down and talk to them both after the tour. In the interview, Murky Ghost said they were selected for MOMO Festival by international curators. who had been impressed by their performances. Harry Hamelink, one of the curators, saw five of their performances from his visit in 2020 and 2022, including at LUCfest and a showcase at Final. He was deeply moved by each one because of their different arrangements.

— Which events did you participate in at the MOMO Festival? What performances did you hold?


TenderG
:

We performed for 45 minutes on the day we arrived, half an hour on Saturday, and three performances of 20 minutes each.

Murky Ghost:

The 20-minute performances were part of a local urban renewal and idle space utilization project called Parfum de BoemBoem. We performed three times because there were three batches of tourist groups coming in, and we waited and performed like game show hosts on stage.

At midnight, we even performed a song on the spot in collaboration with a local producer, which we will complete and release later. In addition to the performances and interviews, we also worked on a lot of music with local music producers such as Beau Zwart, Elijah Waters, and Jopie.

I felt that I did not fully express myself during the interview program, but one of the performances was paired with a visual of English lyrics that TenderG and I produced, which resonated with the live audience.

Parfume de BoemBoem 攝影:Salih Kilic

— Can you tell us more about the collaborative project with local music producers?

Murky Ghost:

This was a project initiated by the MOMO Festival. Beau Zwart and Elijah Waters are participants in MOMO’s project. They all have great intuition for music, and their working speed is very fast. Elijah's grasp of melody is particularly outstanding, which left a deep impression on me.

TenderG:

We also met Jopie, who already had many collaborations with Elijah. During the days when we didn't have performances, all of us hung out with these musicians.

Do you have any plans to collaborate with these musicians in the future?

TenderG:

We will first confirm the release of a song, and then later this year, the three of them are planning to come to Taiwan. Learning to play musical instruments is a required course for European producers, and each of them can play keyboards, guitar, bass, and other instruments, so it is easy to form a band. We are also discussing a long-term exchange program between Hualien and Rotterdam.