Wao / Shabason, Krgovich, Tenniscoats

"Wao" LP (2025) by Shabason, Krgovich, Tenniscoats.

In April 2024, Joseph Shabason and Nicholas Krgovich embarked on a two-week tour of Japan, their first time performing as Shabason & Krgovich in the country. By a stroke of serendipity, Tenniscoats joined them as their backing band for performances in Matsumoto, Nagoya, Kobe, Kyoto, and Tokyo.

Their base of operations was the esteemed Guggenheim House, a 117-year-old colonial-style mansion repurposed as an artist residency.

With no pre-arranged material, they began to play, toying with melodies, extracting fragments from improvisation, and gradually shaping them into a cohesive form. Eventually, Saya and Krgovich realized they shared a similar sensibility in their lyrical approach. Whether sharing Japanese cloud names (uroko-gumo, ryu-gumo, iwashi-gumo, nemuri-gumo, hitsuji-gumo) while gazing at the sky from a service area, searching for matching socks in a box at a clothing store, or composing an homage to "Tantan," the beloved panda who passed away of old age at Kobe Oji Zoo – they found and sang to the magic hidden in everyday life.

This experience truly became "magic in the everyday." As they worked, they gazed out the Guggenheim House window, watching the Pacific Ocean waves ebb and flow. In just two days, they composed and recorded eight songs, and the album, titled 'Wao', was recorded in the order it was created.

"What's interesting about this album is that it's not a recording studio at all. Because of that, it feels very live, and it's right next to the train tracks, so the sound of passing trains often gets into the recording. I think that gives the work a lot of charm and character," says Joseph.

"It was all like a dream, and it ended so quickly that for a few weeks after returning home, I forgot about it. But the moment I opened the sessions, it was clear that we had created something special."