This Saturday night, two fiercely independent Memphis artists, Shortwave Dahlia and Grupo Jobu, will share the stage at Nocturnal in celebration of the release of new material by both groups.
Shortwave Dahlia, a New Order-ish synth pop group fronted by Jack Alberson, will unveil their newest collection of songs, The Wilderness. Meanwhile, Grupo Jobu, the project of eclectic local singer/songwriter Jobu Babin, will release Mytheme. Both frontmen spoke to the Flyer this week about the release show and their respective new albums.
The Memphis Flyer: How did this combined release show come together?
Jobu Babin: For our part, it seemed natural . . . the timing was perfect. Both records were completed around the same time. We’d known Jack for some time, and had discussed doing shows in the past, but my other musical activities precluded it before. Jason (Grupo drummer) turned me on to The Wilderness, and I just got to liking it. Reminded me of that strange in-between period where Joy Division became New Order, very cool.
Jack Alberson: It just seemed to make sense. Rather than run the risk of splitting up the audience, why not combine forces?