Who is this Dutch guy popping up on Coachella and SXSW festival programs? I don't care, but his music and art are stunning.
Young & Sick - Continuum
Album: Unreleased
Electronica
January 24, 2014
December 31, 2013
December 12, 2013
November 30, 2013
October 30, 2013
October 18, 2013
October 5, 2013
September 23, 2013
September 8, 2013
September 1, 2013
Everyone wants to fly with the fireflies
Last week I ran into a lot of people who asked me: why were the 80ies such a poor period for alternative music? We remember a lot from the 60ies and 70ies, why don't we have the same thing with the 80ies. Those people don't realise that for music to come to its full effect, time has to pass. In the last few years the 80ies have passed the review and hypes around revisiting bands like Joy Division and early shoegaze acts are common these days. Not forgetting the emergence of synth based music that emerged during that time. If you keep that in mind you will find out, that many, many acts today are 80ies inspired and basically the last 2-3 years in alternative music are the 80ies in repeat.
Just to give an example, my new favourite video of the week, belonging to the track Fireflies by Still Corners is an example of typical 80ies synth tunes. And I know we get a lot of music like this lately, but this act is so far above so many comparable ones, that i felt I had to share it. The video matches the song in its warm feel, its melancholic feel, in a way that highlights the classic synth tune. Songs with videos like this can give you the feeling life is rich and full of beautiful moments, and this video breathes all of that out in full force.The vocals are (as always with Still Corners) intense but pleasant to listen to. For me Still Corners is one of the electronic/synth acts of the year, and if this video is a indication of what videos to their songs can be, please give me more.
Enjoy!
August 31, 2013
August 29, 2013
August 19, 2013
August 1, 2013
July 22, 2013
Bad Kingdom
Berlin, for a long time, is the absolute capital for electronic music. (Yeah, that's right, I said it, it's not Amsterdam. No way. Only for generalistic house and trance perhaps.) And this project is a great example of just that. Moderat is a collaboration between Apparat and the duo Modeselektor. And boy, are they great. Like many Berlin acts the music is much more industrial, heavier, but also has more scandinavian influences, than what you come across in the charts right now. ( I read an column a few weeks ago about how )ven Beatport charts in the last few months have gone to total crap, and I agree, calling themselves an "electronic music community is completely wrong.)
Anyway, enough on that for now. Moderat is one of those acts that shows the world: less is in fact more. Their minimal techno approach makes room for some incredible lyrics and some actual tension and emotion in the music. And also makes room for an incredible video. I have not figured out all off it yet, but it's about time to share it with you guys. It's about a british guy, that comes back from the war, and at some point his life is amazing, but then he gets entangled in corruption and greed. The rest is for you. And just, please, enjoy the art, it is freaking amazing if you ask me. Moderat, Berlin Minimal Techno at its best. My Video of the Week. Album "II" out now on Monkeytown Records
June 30, 2013
June 23, 2013
June 18, 2013
Daily Pick #244
Caribou - Jamelia
Album: Swim (2010)
June 8, 2013
Bibio - Silver Wilkinson
Stephen Wilkinson aka Bibio is here to take us to dreamland once again. He is one of the few artists that can blend different styles together, without you realising that someone is trying to do so. Making electronic music more human again, making folk-music more intense, and touching the best aspects of triphop as well. His unbelievable skilll is out on LP again, titled Silver Wilkinson. Bibio albums have been doing something to my head on a regular basis over the last few years, but it felt like he was still looking to find his true identity. To say that he has found it, is pushing it, but he is getting close. According to interviews he has changed his music a bit on purpose. While his albums Mind Bokeh, and a personal favourite Ambivalence Avenue were more purely electronic, this album sounds more harmonic, more natural in a sense. You can just tell more live instrumentals were included, and a fun fact, for a few songs Stephen included recording material outside in his garden to symbolise the new sound.
Let's start of with lead single "A Tout a L'heure":
To show he hasn't forgotten his roots, we get a beautiful third track on the album called Wulf:
And while most people would say there is not much going on here, which I can imagine, the vibe coming from this song is so intense, and shows his talent in electronica music. But this album is more of him sitting down with his guitar and playing some of the best folky songs I have heard all year. Like in Raincoat:
I hope you are now in love with this album as much as I am. Maybe its just me, but while more and more singer/songwriters, that are hitting the festivals and the charts, are sounding more and more alike, the stand-outs like Bibio are the acts that really do it for me. I hope I can convince you too. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
I give this album a staggering 4.5/5 stars.
By the way, the blog's youtube channel is updated with some Bibio tracks among them. Check it out, and thanks for the views lately.
June 4, 2013
Daily Pick #239
Kate Boy - The Way We Are
Album: Unreleased
Recent Comments