Pianist and composer Hue Blanes shoots for the moon in his latest show, which will run as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
Combining original composition with a dash of theatre, Hue Blanes And The Moon explores concepts of life, death, truth and perception. “It’s about whether we're the only people on Earth, and poses questions as to whether we're the only people alive in the universe,” Hue explains.
It also talks about the future and about a lot of conspiracy theories that are doing the rounds at the moment about crop circles and chem trails. “It doesn't look at it from a political, wordy standpoint but comes from an emotional platform, you could say.
“The songs explore relationships, failure, death, religion; it sounds pretty heavy but it's looking at it from more of an emotional and funny way. There's a little bit of theatrics. There's some really funny takes on convention and religion; I don’t want to give away too much.”
The show is set in Hue’s bedroom where he performs on the piano with the intention of transporting the audience to another world through the musical narrative laced with his observational wit. “I’m hoping that the audience can be really interested in the music side as well, being more of a composer myself,” Hue says.
“I’m hoping the audience can discover beauty in my songs and try to hear songs that aren't necessarily pop songs, but they explore themes that everyone, I assume, would be familiar with.”
As a musician, Hue has developed a reputation for writing songs that are simultaneously melancholic and beautiful. Dubbed ‘the master of melancholy’ by his peers, in 2014 Hue released his album, ‘Sad Songs Make Me Happy’. “I think it's more stressful to be happy all the time than to sometimes accept melancholy, accept sadness,” he says.
“There are some people that have been very close to me, even very recently, who I think always force themselves to be happy and then implode just trying to be happy all the time.”
Despite his penchant for sad songs, Hue’s music is far from depressing or maudlin. Rather it uplifts and inspires through his unique talent for composition and arrangement. “To be honest, I find immense beauty in melancholy. I went to a friend’s classical concert and it's fair to say that most classical music is intensely sad and it's very rarely joyful the whole time, like the way pop music is today.
“What I really like about that is it explores truths, it gets into the beauty of life, into the honesty of life, as opposed to the sugar-coating and bubblegum of life. Don’t get me wrong,” he laughs, “the show has to be emotional and entertaining; it’s not a one-hour TED Talks.”
Hue’s appearance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival will be one of the few opportunities for Australian audiences to witness Hue Blanes And The Moon before he attempts to take the production overseas. While in Adelaide, he plans on soaking as much of the music, art and culture the festival and city have to offer. “I’m looking forward to staying close to the Festival and checking out some other artists while I’m there,” he says.
“Adelaide’s a great place: the wide streets, free trams, the relatively mild conditions in winter, and good food and wine. It’s a cool spot.”
Hue Blanes And The Moon play Artspace Gallery 16-18 June as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
