Musica Eclectica

Olafur Arnalds - Fok

I've got quite an eclectic music taste, actually. It's more varied than people think. The thing is, because most people don't know what genres I'm talking about, they usually group them into just one genre, when they are actually very different from one another. Some people assume anything with guitar and drums are automatically rock music.

Here I've posted a song that is deeply haunting yet soothing at the same time. Coming from the same area as Bjork (Reykjavik, Iceland), Olafur Arnalds's neo-classical music is - in his own words - "beautiful the way the Arctic is." This is true. The sparse nature of it only seems to accentuate the vastness and epic scope of songs like this one, Fok.

By using a piano and a string quartet, accompanied with samples, Olafur does not need to make his songs over-long (most of his songs are less than six minutes) to achieve the over-arching, grand atmosphere that makes you realise the beauty of scarceness in the barren landscapes of the Arctic.



Crystal Castles - Courtship Dating

This is one of my favourite bands. They're called Crystal Castles, and they hail from Toronto. An expression of teenage angst through violent poetry and 8-bit, glitch-filled samples, Crystal Castles is a band that uses their hatred to create music that is both piercing and danceable. Call it electro dance punk if you may. That's the best I could come up with.

The video might make you think of a much darker version of the Ting Tings, but Crystal Castles are nothing like the inoffensive, colourful duo. Alice Glass and Ethan Kath were both brought up in neighbourhoods with levels of violence and fucked-upness that beggars belief. According to Alice, her best friend Beth is currently on trial for murder, though she is adamant that all Beth did was assist in the cover-up.

The distorted, pained voice of Alice in songs like "Alice Practice," coupled with incomprehensible lyrics, makes for a very unique, audio experience. The lyrics are so incomprehensible at times, that you wonder if they made the lyrics on the spot while performing. But the words don't matter. It's the pain in the voice, the angst, the anger in the gameboy samples, and the disturbing notion that it makes you want to dance a little bit.

Signing out

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