Robot Swing 倫敦首演：讓意外成為音樂的一部分
演出由 Cosmos Zero 與 Happy Garden 先後暖場，替夜晚逐漸升溫。鍵盤手昭元此前已提前抵達倫敦，也正是透過當地的 jam sessions，與 Happy Garden、Cosmos Zero 建立起這次合作的連結。
Happy Garden 熱烈地與台下互動，甚至邀請全場蹲下齊跳，又突然引導大家開圈狂歡，讓原本只是觀看演出的觀眾逐漸成為現場的一部分。倫敦觀眾也很快投入其中，跟著音樂一起舞動，讓整個場地變成一個不斷流動的空間。
Robot Swing 也無預警地加入 Happy Garden 的即興演出，在不同音樂語言之間來回碰撞。還沒等 Robot Swing 正式登台，跨國合作的火花便已經先在舞台上發生。
接著，Robot Swing 正式登場。
開場曲〈Robot Revolution〉沒有太多鋪陳，四個人直接把音樂推向前方，充滿強烈的節奏與衝擊感。時而透過聲碼器發出機器人的宣言，搖滾、放克與爵士等元素交錯其中，節奏不斷變化，四個人的演奏像彼此丟接球一樣，自由地來回移動。
而這種「不按牌理出牌」的現場感，也很快感染了台下。
如果說前一刻的 Robot Swing 正把現場推向舞池，那麼〈Deep Breath〉則讓時間突然慢了下來。
音樂變得舒緩，團員邀請大家放鬆、深呼吸，像是進入一段短暫的冥想。這種強烈的節奏轉換，也正是 Robot Swing 現場有趣的地方：他們不只是一路把情緒推高，也能隨時改變方向，讓觀眾不知道下一秒會發生什麼。
而真正的「意外」，發生在〈Robot in No Man’s Land〉。
演奏途中，惟農的吉他突然斷弦。對許多樂團來說，這可能意味著演出必須暫停，但 Robot Swing 沒有停下來。惟農直接向 Cosmos Zero 與 Happy Garden 求援，臨時借來吉他繼續演出。
這場突如其來的小插曲沒有破壞演出的流動，反而成為當晚最令人印象深刻的片段之一。更有趣的是，斷掉的琴弦最後也沒有被浪費。惟農把它留了下來，最後送給台下呼聲最高的觀眾。原本可能讓人緊張的「當機」，最後反而成了台上台下共同擁有的一個紀念品。
對 Robot Swing 來說，現場的意外並不一定是需要避免的事情，有時候反而會讓四個人進入更即時的反應狀態。那些無法預測的變數，也正是每一場演出只會發生一次的原因。
Robot Swing 也邀請 Cosmos Zero 上台合作。帶著極具個人魅力的即興快嘴饒舌，玩味十足的表演搭配 Robot Swing 的演奏，讓現場氣氛一路推向最高點。
到了尾聲，Robot Swing 帶來的是 1979 年英國前衛搖滾樂團 Supertramp 的經典作品〈Goodbye Stranger〉。在倫敦演出這首作品，似乎也多了一點特別的意味。當熟悉的旋律透過 Robot Swing 的編制重新出現，也像是他們與這座城市的音樂文化進行了一次短暫的對話。
但觀眾顯然還不打算讓今晚結束。
安可曲〈Taiwanese Football〉再次把現場拉回熟悉的 Robot Swing 節奏。從台灣一路來到倫敦，經過不同音樂人的加入、即興、意外與碰撞，最後仍然以屬於自己的音樂收尾。
演出結束後，現場也沒有立刻散去。
不少樂迷拿著海報留下來等待簽名，團員們也親切地和大家聊天。直到場地準備關門，這台來自台灣的「機器人」才終於結束了在倫敦的一晚。
在演出前的專訪裡，我曾問 Robot Swing，什麼樣才算是一場理想的演出。
昭元的回答是：「台上台下都覺得今天這場只會發生一次，那就是最好的演出。」
9 月 28 日的倫敦，或許正是這樣的一晚。
有即興、有舞動，有意外，也真的有一點「當機」。但 Robot Swing 沒有試著把這些變數藏起來，而是讓它們成為演出的一部分。
當一根琴弦斷掉、當下一個聲音無法預測，音樂並沒有因此停止。
它只是繼續往前。
Robot Swing’s London Debut: Letting the Unexpected Become Part of the Music
On 28 September, Taiwanese instrumental quartet Robot Swing took the stage at The Grace in London, performing alongside British contemporary jazz sextet Happy Garden and Cosmos Zero.
From Happy Garden’s improvised set to the ever-shifting rhythms of Robot Swing’s performance, the night was full of spontaneous exchanges between the musicians and the audience. At times relaxed, at times intense, the music kept moving in unexpected directions as the four members responded to one another in the moment.
For Robot Swing, a live show is never simply about replaying the songs. It is about creating something together in the moment with each other and with the audience, making every performance something that can only happen once.
For their London debut, this Taiwanese “robot” left behind a night of its own in a new city.
Taiwanese instrumental quartet Robot Swing consists of ZAOYUAN (keyboard & synthesizer), FlyingPP (drums), NZ (bass), and Wei-Nong (guitar & Vocoder). On 28 September, they took the stage at The Grace in London, performing alongside British contemporary jazz sextet Happy Garden and Cosmos Zero. It marked Robot Swing’s first performance in London, while also bringing together musicians from Taiwan and the UK through music.
Also present at the venue was zine.furyo, the independent “Furyo” magazine, distributing its newspapers and zines. Beyond the music, these printed works offered another way for the audience to step into Robot Swing’s robotic universe.
The evening began with opening performances from Cosmos Zero and Happy Garden, gradually warming up the room. Keyboardist ZAOYUAN had arrived in London ahead of the rest of the band, and it was through local jam sessions that he connected with musicians from Happy Garden and Cosmos Zero, laying the groundwork for this cross-border collaboration.
Happy Garden brought plenty of interaction with the crowd, at one point inviting everyone to crouch down and jump together before suddenly opening up a circle for everyone to dance. The audience quickly joined in, turning from spectators into part of the performance and transforming the venue into a constantly shifting space.
Robot Swing then unexpectedly joined Happy Garden for an improvised performance, bringing different musical languages together in real time. Before Robot Swing had even officially taken the stage, the spark of this cross-border collaboration had already happened.
Then, Robot Swing took the stage.
The opening track, “Robot Revolution”, wasted little time with introductions. The four musicians immediately pushed the music forward with a powerful sense of rhythm and impact. At times, a vocoder gave voice to the robots’ declarations, while rock, funk and jazz intertwined throughout. The rhythm kept shifting, with the four musicians throwing musical ideas back and forth like a game of catch, moving freely between one another.
That sense of unpredictability quickly spread to the audience.
If Robot Swing had just pushed the room towards the dance floor, “Deep Breath” suddenly slowed everything down.
The atmosphere became calm and spacious as the band invited everyone to relax and take a deep breath, almost like entering a brief moment of meditation. This sharp change in mood is part of what makes Robot Swing’s live shows so engaging: rather than simply building towards a constant peak, they can change direction at any moment, leaving the audience wondering what might happen next.
The real “unexpected moment”, however, came during “Robot in No Man’s Land”.
Midway through the performance, guitarist Wei-Nong broke a guitar string. For many bands, that might mean stopping the show, but Robot Swing simply carried on. Wei-Nong called on Cosmos Zero and Happy Garden for help, borrowing a guitar and continuing the performance.
The sudden interruption did nothing to break the flow of the show. Instead, it became one of the night’s most memorable moments.
And the broken string did not go to waste either. Wei-Nong kept it and eventually gave it to the audience member who received the loudest cheers. What could have been a stressful moment of “system failure” instead became a small keepsake shared between the stage and the crowd.
For Robot Swing, unexpected moments are not necessarily something to avoid. Sometimes, they push the four musicians into an even more immediate state of reaction. Those unpredictable variables are precisely what make each performance something that can only happen once.
Robot Swing later invited Cosmos Zero back on stage for a collaboration. With his distinctive, rapid-fire improvised rap and playful presence alongside Robot Swing’s musicianship, the energy in the room reached its peak.
Towards the end of the set, Robot Swing performed “Goodbye Stranger”, the 1979 classic by British progressive rock band Supertramp. Performing a British classic in London seemed to give the moment an added sense of significance. As the familiar melody re-emerged through Robot Swing’s instrumentation, it felt like a brief musical conversation between the band and the city’s musical culture.
But the audience clearly was not ready for the night to end.
For the encore, Robot Swing returned with “Taiwanese Football”, bringing the room back to the familiar Robot Swing groove. From Taiwan to London, through collaborations, improvisation, unexpected moments and musical collisions, the night ultimately came to a close with something unmistakably their own.
The venue did not empty immediately after the show.
Many fans stayed behind with posters, waiting for autographs, while the band chatted warmly with the audience. ZAOYUAN continued greeting people until the venue was preparing to close, finally bringing Robot Swing’s first London night to an end.
In our interview with Robot Swing ahead of the show, we asked what an ideal performance would look like.
ZAOYUAN answered: “When everyone on stage and in the audience feels that this performance can only happen once, that’s the best kind of show.”
Perhaps that was exactly what happened in London on 28 September.
There was improvisation, dancing and the unexpected, and, yes, a little bit of “system failure”. But Robot Swing never tried to hide those variables. Instead, they made them part of the performance.
When a guitar string breaks, when the next sound cannot be predicted, the music does not stop.
